Nara: President Lee Jae Myung is set to depart for Japan's Nara Prefecture on Tuesday for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The discussions are expected to cover bilateral ties and regional and global issues, amid ongoing tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee's two-day visit to Nara, Takaichi's hometown, is part of reciprocal leader-level visits known as "shuttle diplomacy," aimed at maintaining the recent momentum in improving relations. This will be Lee's second visit to Japan following his trip last August for talks with Takaichi's predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, and his third meeting with Takaichi since she took office in October.
Lee and Takaichi initially held summit talks during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju in late October and briefly met again at the Group of 20 leaders' gathering in South Africa in November. The upcoming meeting follows closely after Lee's state visit to China for summit talks with President Xi Jinping, amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Tokyo following Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan.
In a recent interview with Japan's NHK, Lee emphasized that South Korea's relations with Japan are as crucial as those with China, and stated that the tensions over Taiwan are not a matter in which Seoul will engage or intervene. Additionally, South Korea's ban on seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures, a point of contention since 2013 due to radiation concerns post-Fukushima nuclear disaster, is expected to be discussed.
Lee noted in the interview that easing these import restrictions would require time to address public concerns, but acknowledged that the issue remains a significant item on Seoul's diplomatic agenda, as it seeks Tokyo's support for its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The agenda is also likely to include discussions on North Korea, as both leaders have shown interest in engaging Pyongyang. Lee welcomed Takaichi's willingness to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un regarding the abduction issue and offered to facilitate dialogue between Tokyo and Pyongyang, aiming to help establish diplomatic ties.
Historical issues are anticipated to be part of the dialogue as well, as the Lee administration pursues a "two-track" approach of expanding future-oriented cooperation while continuing to address unresolved wartime history issues from Japan's colonial rule of Korea from 1910-1945. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac expressed hope that the talks will advance efforts to recover the remains of Korean forced laborers from the Chosei undersea coal mine in Japan's Yamaguchi Prefecture, where a 1942 flood claimed the lives of 136 Koreans.
On Wednesday, the two leaders are scheduled to attend diplomatic events together, including a visit to Horyuji Temple, home to the world's oldest surviving wooden structures and Japan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lee is also set to meet with members of the Korean community in Japan before concluding his visit.