Ishiba, Lee share hopes for early meeting in first phone talks
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters following the election of Lee Jae-myung as South Korean president on June 4. (Takeshi Iwashita)
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung agreed on the need for improved ties between their respective nations as they talked on the telephone on June 9.
According to a Japanese government statement, the two leaders shared 'hopes for an early opportunity for a face-to-face meeting.'
It was the first time that Lee, who assumed the presidency on June 4, and Ishiba have held talks.
During the conversation that lasted for about 25 minutes from noon, Ishiba and Lee agreed on the importance of Japan-South Korea relations and cooperation between Japan, the United States and South Korea.
They also confirmed that Japan-South Korea relations should be developed in a stable manner.
Ishiba told Lee that he 'would like to work closely (with Seoul) in dealing with North Korea, including the abduction issue of Japanese nationals by North Korea,' according to the Japanese government.
According to an announcement by the Office of the President of South Korea, the two leaders agreed to create a more solid and mature relationship between the two countries based on mutual respect and trust.
Lee also stressed that Japan-Korea relations are becoming more important in today's strategic environment, and expressed hope that the two countries will respond to challenges together from the perspective of mutual national interests and seek a direction in which they can coexist in harmony.
It was the second time that Lee has held phone talks with a foreign leader, following U.S. President Donald Trump on the evening of June 6.
Ishiba and Lee are scheduled to attend the Group of Seven summit in Canada on June 15-17, and may hold their first face-to-face meeting as early as this occasion.
(This article was written by Kei Kobayashi, and correspondent Akihiko Kaise.)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Princess Kako addresses Brazil's Congress, meets with Lula in presidential palace
By MAURICIO SAVARESE Japan's Princess Kako of Akishino, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, was welcomed on Wednesday by Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a private ceremony on the latest leg of her 11-day tour of the South American nation. The younger daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko also addressed Congress and thanked Brazilians for hosting Japanese immigrants for more than a century. Her trip, which started on June 5, marks the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 'The efforts of the Japanese who came, and the Brazilians who went to Japan, are deepening our bilateral relationship of friendship," Kako told Brazilian lawmakers. 'I hope that the relationship between the two countries is a long lasting one.' Congress speaker Hugo Motta told the princess he hopes Brazil's ethanol 'can help Japan reduce its dependency on fossil fuels.' Brazil has the largest population of people of Japanese descent in the world, estimated at about 2.7 million. About half of those live in Sao Paulo state, official figures show, where the princess last week received the state's highest honor from Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas. Emperor Naruhito has no male children, which makes his brother Akishino, Princess Kako's father, the first successor in line. Japan's tradition does not allow women to take the throne. Princess Kako will arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, where she will visit the Christ the Redeemer statue and a museum of Japanese immigration. The last part of her trip will take place in the city of Foz do Iguacu, where the world famous Iguacu falls are located. © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
South Korea halts propaganda broadcasts along border with rival North in a move to ease tensions
FILE - A South Korean military vehicle with loudspeakers is seen in front of the barbed-wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, on Feb. 15, 2018.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) By KIM TONG-HYUNG South Korea's military shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda along the inter-Korean border on Wednesday, marking the new liberal government's first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals. The South resumed the daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign. South Korea's Defense Ministry said the move, ordered by President Lee Jae-myung, was part of efforts 'to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.' Kang Yu-jung, Lee's spokesperson, described the decision as a 'proactive step' to reduce military tensions and ease the burden for South Koreans residing in border areas, who have also been affected by North Korea's retaliatory loudspeaker broadcasts. North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, didn't immediately comment on the step by Seoul. South Korea reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North last year in response to thousands of trash balloons that Pyongyang flew toward South Korea to drop substances including wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure. From May to November last year, North Korea flew about 7,000 balloons toward South Korea in 32 separate occasions, according to the South's military. The North said that its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas. Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said that the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt. The South's broadcast playlist was clearly designed to strike a nerve in Pyongyang, where Kim's government has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population in a bid to strengthen his family's dynastic rule. The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan. Lee, an outspoken liberal who took office last week after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon's hard-line policies and shunned dialogue. During his election campaign, Lee promised to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tensions and discomfort for South Korean residents in border towns. In recent months, those residents had complained about North Korea's retaliatory broadcasts, which included howling animals, pounding gongs and other irritating sounds. In a briefing on Monday, South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also called for South Korean civilian activists to stop flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Such activities 'could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas,' said Koo Byoungsam, the ministry's spokesperson. In his inaugural address last week, Lee vowed to reopen communication channels with North Korea. But prospects for an early resumption of dialogue between the rival Koreas remain dim. North Korea has consistently rejected offers from South Korea and the United States since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disagreements. North Korea's priority in foreign policy is now firmly with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its war with Ukraine. South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Kim in return could seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear weapons and missile program. Yoon, who was removed from office in April over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, had focused on strengthening military partnerships with Washington and Tokyo and on securing stronger U.S. assurances of a swift and decisive nuclear response to defend the South against a North Korean nuclear attack. In a fierce reaction to Yoon's policies, Kim declared in January 2024 that he was abandoning the long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with the South and instructed the rewriting of the North's constitution to cement the South as a permanent 'principal enemy.' Following years of heightened testing activity, Kim has acquired a broad range of missiles that could potentially target rivals in Asia and the U.S. mainland. He has also called for increased production of nuclear materials to create more bombs. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is monitoring signs that North Korea may be building a new uranium-enrichment plant at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
NHK
3 hours ago
- NHK
Retired Japan, US officers join simulation in Taiwan on possible attack by China
Former Japanese Self-Defense Forces and US military officers have taken part in a simulation to respond to possible attack by China on Taiwan. Private-sector groups in Taiwan organized the event in Taipei on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was attended by former officers from Taiwan and 17 retired officers from Japan and the US. They included retired General Iwasaki Shigeru, former chief of staff of the SDF Joint Staff, and retired Admiral Michael Mullen, former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. The simulation -- assuming that China were to launch an armed attack on Taiwan in 2030 -- was held behind closed doors. The participants discussed possible moves by China and responses by Taiwan, the US and Japan. At a news conference on Wednesday they said it is important to boost Taiwan's defense capabilities, including employing "asymmetric" defense using cheap, mobile weapons. They also recommended strengthening deterrence against China through cooperation among countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Takei Tomohisa, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and a retired admiral in the Maritime Self-Defense Force, said the most important thing for Japan to do is improve its defense capabilities and deterrent power while maintaining lines of communication with Taiwan.
