Nara: President Lee Jae Myung emphasized the critical importance of South Korea and Japan working together during a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. He underscored the necessity of collaboration in light of the current complex international order.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee's comments came at the commencement of summit talks with Takaichi, where he urged both nations to look beyond historical grievances stemming from Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula. He expressed the need for a forward-looking approach to enhance bilateral relations.

The meeting with Takaichi follows Lee's recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. This diplomatic engagement occurs amidst heightened tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan-related comments made by Takaichi. Lee highlighted the 60 years of mutually beneficial relations since the normalization of diplomatic ties and expressed optimism for further progress in the next six decades.

Prime Minister Takaichi conveyed her commitment to collaborating with Lee to foster regional stability. She expressed optimism that Lee's visit would strengthen Seoul-Tokyo relations. Lee also articulated aspirations for expanded cooperation with Japan in areas such as artificial intelligence, economy, society, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

Lee noted the rising geopolitical uncertainty and the challenges facing multilateralism and global supply chains. He stressed the importance of confronting historical issues while building cooperation based on mutual trust.

President Lee's visit to Nara is part of a "shuttle diplomacy" initiative aimed at maintaining the positive momentum in improving bilateral relations. The two leaders previously engaged in summit talks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju and later at the Group of 20 leaders' meeting in South Africa.