Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in South Korea on Tuesday for her fourth meeting with President Lee Jae Myung in about six months, as the two leaders continue to strengthen ties between the historical Asian rivals amid geopolitical challenges.
Hometown Diplomacy
Lee hosted Takaichi in his hometown of Andong, a southeastern city renowned for its centuries-old traditional folk village, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This follows their January meeting in Takaichi’s hometown of Nara, an ancient Japanese capital. These visits mark the first time sitting leaders of the two countries have visited each other’s hometowns.
South Korea’s presidential office expressed hope that Tuesday’s summit would bolster mutual trust between the leaders. Takaichi told reporters she hopes the talks will deepen cooperation “under the severe geopolitical conditions such as situations in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.” The official agenda includes economic and energy cooperation, the Iran war, and development of bilateral ties, which currently have no sticking points.
Positive Trajectory
Experts predict the meeting will proceed smoothly, with relations remaining on a positive trajectory. “The two countries put more emphasis on agenda for cooperation than contentious issues,” said Choi Eunmi, a Japan expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “They would now think scenes of constantly fluctuating relationship or eventually negative bilateral ties won’t be helpful to anyone now.”
South Korea and Japan are both key U.S. allies with vibrant democracies, but their relationship has experienced severe ups and downs over grievances from Japan’s 35-year colonization of the Korean Peninsula before World War II. Relations began improving in 2023 when Lee and Takaichi’s predecessors took steps to move beyond history disputes, citing common challenges like U.S.-China strategic competition, supply chain vulnerabilities, and North Korea’s advancing nuclear arsenal.
Leadership Dynamics
When Lee and Takaichi took office last year, observers worried about Takaichi’s reputation as a right-wing security hawk and anticipation that Lee, a political liberal, would tilt toward North Korea and China. However, they have maintained cooperation in unprecedented ways. In August, Lee became the first South Korean leader to choose Japan as his first destination for a bilateral summit. In January, the two leaders drummed to K-pop hits like BTS’s “Dynamite” in a jam session arranged by Takaichi, a heavy metal fan and former drummer.
Lee has said he and Takaichi share a view that national leaders must act differently than ordinary politicians. Many observers believe the two leaders feel the need to tighten cooperation due to more grave geopolitical difficulties than their predecessors faced, such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s America-first policy and global economic damage from the Iran war.
Challenges Ahead
Both South Korea and Japan have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. business investments. Trump’s tariff war and transactional approach to security threaten trust in the U.S. held by many in both countries. Ties between Seoul and Tokyo remain delicate and could suffer setbacks if they fail to formulate coping measures for explosive issues like Japan’s colonial-era mobilization of Koreans as forced laborers and sex slaves. Experts note that wrangling over these issues has eased as governments avoid public discussions. “Both countries aren’t talking about how to resolve and prevent recurrences of conflicts over those issues and we don’t know when they could occur again,” Choi said.
