On Friday (January 9), the governments of Japan and South Korea simultaneously announced that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will embark on a two-day visit to Japan starting next Tuesday (January 13) and will hold a summit meeting in Nara Prefecture, the hometown of Japanese Prime Minister Sousuke Takai.
This visit is part of the regular “shuttle diplomacy” between the leaders of Japan and South Korea, aimed at continuing the recent improvement in bilateral relations and enhancing coordination in the complex regional security environment.
According to the Blue House, the presidential office of South Korea, Lee Jae-myung’s visit was at the invitation of Prime Minister Takai. The schedule indicates that Lee will arrive in Nara on the afternoon of the 13th, hold a formal meeting with Takai, and have dinner together. On the morning of the 14th, both leaders will participate in exchange activities, and in the afternoon, Lee will meet with representatives of the Korean community in Japan before returning home.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshinori Kihara stated at a regular press conference in Tokyo that the importance of Japan-South Korea bilateral relations and trilateral cooperation between Japan, South Korea, and the United States is increasingly rising in the current strategic and security environment. He expressed his expectations that frank exchanges between the leaders will promote the development of Tokyo-Seoul relations in a future-oriented and stable manner.
Previously, Japan-South Korea relations hit a decades-long low due to historical and territorial issues, but in recent years, the two countries have gradually repaired and returned to a cooperative track. Lee Jae-myung’s last visit to Japan was in August last year, and the upcoming meeting in Nara will be his second face-to-face exchange with Takai since their meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, in October last year. According to Japanese sources, during the Gyeongju meeting, Lee Jae-myung expressed his wish to visit Nara.
The Japanese government also announced that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will embark on a three-day visit to Japan starting next Thursday and will hold a summit meeting with Prime Minister Takai. This will be the first official meeting between the leaders of the two countries since Takai took office as Prime Minister in October last year. Coinciding with the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Italy, the Japanese government looks forward to further deepening bilateral friendship and cooperation through this visit.