
Japan's Ishiba, S.Korea's Lee agree to advance bilateral ties on G7 sidelines
The two leaders met in person for the first time for about 30 minutes in Canada on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit. South Korea is among the countries invited to the gathering.
At the beginning of the meeting, Ishiba again congratulated Lee on his inauguration.
Ishiba noted that Japan and South Korea reach a milestone this year, as it marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties.
He said he hopes that exchanges among the governments, companies and citizens of both countries will grow even more vibrant.
He also said he expects cooperation and partnership between Japan and South Korea to be a powerful force for the region and the world.
Amid the increasingly severe regional security environment, the two leaders said they would continue to coordinate their responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile development as well as the abduction issue.
They also agreed to maintain close communication through shuttle diplomacy, with mutual visits by the two leaders.

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Japan Today
18 hours ago
- Japan Today
S Korean president to meet Japanese PM ahead of summit with Trump
A South Korean protester wearing a mask of U.S. President Donald Trump attends a rally to oppose the planned joint military exercises called Ulchi Freedom Shield, or UFS, between the U.S. and South Korea, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. The signs at bottom read, "There is no need for such an alliance." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) By KIM TONG-HYUNG South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo next week before flying to Washington for a summit with President Donald Trump, underscoring how Trump's push to reset global trade is drawing the often-feuding neighbors closer. Lee's two-day visit to Japan Aug. 23–24 will be an opportunity to deepen personal ties with Ishiba and put bilateral relations on firmer ground. Their talks will center on strengthening trilateral cooperation with Washington, promoting 'regional peace and stability,' and addressing other international issues, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Wednesday. Their meeting will come weeks after South Korea and Japan secured trade deals with Washington that shielded their trade-dependent economies from Trump's highest tariffs. The separate agreements negotiated their rates of reciprocal duties down to 15% from the originally proposed 25%, but only after pledging hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. investments. Japan's Foreign Ministry said it hopes Lee's visit will promote the 'stable development' of bilateral ties as their countries work together on international challenges. It said the two governments plan to maintain close communication, including utilizing the 'shuttle diplomacy' of regular leadership summits used in the past. After meeting Ishiba, Lee will travel to Washington for an Aug. 25 summit with Trump, which his office said will focus on trade and defense cooperation. Relations between the two U.S. allies often have been strained in recent years over grievances stemming from Japan's brutal colonization of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II. Lee and Ishiba previously met on the sidelines of the June G7 meetings in Canada, where they called for building a future-oriented relationship and agreed to cooperate closely on various issues including trade and countering North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. Lee's meeting with Ishiba is clearly intended as preparation for the tougher challenge of the summit with Trump, who has unsettled allies and partners with tariff hikes and demands to reduce reliance on the U.S. while paying more for their defense. Lee could seek tips from Ishiba, who already has met Trump, and their governments may feel an urgent need to cooperate and respond jointly to challenges posed by Washington, said Park Won Gon, a professor at Seoul's Ewha University. The setup also may help revive the trilateral summits initiated under former President Joe Biden, which would make more sense than dealing with Trump separately, Park said, noting South Korea and Japan share strategic interests. 'They are the only countries that have signed special measures agreements on sharing defense costs with the United States," Park said. "Both depend on U.S. extended deterrence to cope with North Korean threats. With U.S. forces stationed both in South Korea and Japan, they are partners who need to be ready to respond to crisis situations, like one in the Taiwan Strait.' Some 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea and Japan to combat possible North Korean provocations and deal with regional challenges including those posed by China. Ties between Seoul and Tokyo were rocky during Trump's first term, marked by a trade dispute and clashes over wartime history. Washington largely took a hands-off approach as its two allies aired their feud in public. The standoff eased as the Biden administration pressured the countries to repair ties, aiming to strengthen their trilateral security cooperation against North Korean threats and counter China's growing influence. Biden's push was supported by South Korea's previous conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who took significant steps to improve ties with Tokyo, including a major compromise on compensation issues related to Korean victims of Japanese wartime slavery that sparked backlash at home. But Yoon's presidency was cut short by his brief imposition of martial law in December, which led to his ouster and imprisonment, leaving uncertainty over Seoul-Tokyo relations under Lee, who has long accused Japan of clinging to its imperialist past and hindering cooperation. Since taking office in June after winning the early presidential election, Lee has avoided thorny remarks about Japan, instead promoting pragmatism in foreign policy and pledging to strengthen Seoul's alliance with Washington and trilateral cooperation with Tokyo. There also have been calls in South Korea to boost collaboration with Japan in responding to Trump's policies. Lee's meeting with Trump will come against the backdrop of concerns in Seoul that the Trump administration could shake up the decades-old alliance by demanding higher payments for the U.S. troop presence in South Korea and possibly move to reduce it as Washington shifts more focus on China. Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Tokyo. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.


NHK
a day ago
- NHK
South Korea's Lee to visit Japan on Aug. 23-24 for talks with Ishiba
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will visit Japan on August 23 and 24 for talks with Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru. The summit was announced by both countries on Wednesday. Lee is scheduled to then travel to Washington for his first face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump on August 25. Lee and Ishiba met for the first time in June on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada. They agreed to maintain close communication and organize visits to their respective countries. Ishiba also noted this year's significance for bilateral ties, as it marks the 60th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations.


Japan Today
05-08-2025
- Japan Today
More than 85 percent of U.S.-Canada trade is tariff free: Carney
US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at a G7 meeting in June 2025 More than 85 percent of trade between the United States and Canada remains tariff free, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday, days after President Donald Trump hiked levies on some Canadian goods. Carney has said he was disappointed by Trump's decision last week to raise tariffs on isolated Canadian imports from 25 percent to 35 percent -- which took effect August 1. But the Canadian leader stressed the importance of Trump's decision to preserve exemptions for all goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, which Trump signed -- and praised -- in his first term. Speaking in the west coast province of British Columbia, Carney said Canada currently faces one of the lowest average US tariff rates of any country. "Over 85% of Canada-U.S. trade continues to be tariff-free in both directions," he said. Trump justified his latest Canada tariffs on grounds that the U.S. northern neighbor had not done enough to limit the cross-border flow of fentanyl, a drug fueling a major U.S. opioid crisis. Carney noted that fentanyl entering the United States from Canada was "a rounding error" compared to other sources. According to US data, fentanyl seized at the northern border accounted for less than 0.1 percent of all seizures between 2022 and 2024. Carney told reporters he had not spoken to Trump since last week's tariff announcement. "We'll speak when it makes sense," he said, voicing hope negotiators could still move towards a comprehensive bilateral deal. Carney's comments, made as he unveiled new support for a softwood lumber industry at the center of U.S.-Canada trade tensions, came as the national statistics agency released its June trade figures. Compared to June 2024, Canadian exports to the United States were down 12.5 percent, Statistics Canada said. Trump's protectionism is having an impact across the Canadian economy, but the sectors targeted by global US tariffs -- notably auto, steel and aluminum -- have caused the most damage. "Major Canadian industries are being severely impacted by U.S. (policies)," Carney said. "While we'll continue to work with the United States on the many mutually beneficial opportunities that we is clear that we cannot count, or fully rely, on what has been our most valued trading relationship." © 2025 AFP