S Korean president eyes Japan visit in late August
Ishiba and Lee, who would be making his first visit to Japan since taking office in early June, are expected to agree to maintain close communication to help stabilize bilateral ties often strained by wartime history and territorial disputes, according to the sources.
They are also likely to affirm security collaboration both bilaterally and trilaterally with the United States in the face of challenges such as North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, the sources said.
Other summit topics could include the growing military partnership between North Korea and Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine, as well as Pyongyang's malicious cyber activities that include cryptocurrency theft, the sources said.
Lee is expected to stop in Japan on his way to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump, the sources added.
Ishiba and Lee first met in person in mid-June in Canada on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit, which Lee joined as a guest, and confirmed their commitment to "shuttle diplomacy," or regular reciprocal visits of leaders.
Japan and South Korea, marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties, have seen their relations improve since the inauguration in 2022 of Lee's predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol.
Under Yoon, the practice of mutually visiting each other's country resumed, with then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida making a trip to South Korea the following year.
Last month, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun visited Japan as his first foreign trip destination since becoming the country's top diplomat earlier in July, holding talks with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya in Tokyo.
© KYODO
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
South Korean President Lee Likely to Visit Japan in Late August
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Japanese and South Korean governments are considering a plan for South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to visit Japan in late August, officials from both governments said Friday. If realized, it would be Lee's first visit to Japan since taking office in June. He is expected to meet with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to affirm their policy of maintaining the trend of improving bilateral relations. They are also expected to agree to begin reciprocal visits. The JoongAng Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, reported in its online edition Friday that Lee is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 25. Lee's visit to Japan is being arranged just before or just after his trip to the United States. In June, Ishiba and Lee held their first in-person talks on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada, agreeing to build future-oriented relations and continue the shuttle diplomacy. At the envisaged summit, the two leaders are expected to exchange views on North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia, China's increasingly assertive behavior in the East and South China seas and ways to deal with the Trump administration.
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japan, Peru leaders eye cooperation over critical minerals, defense
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan and Peru agreed at their summit on Friday to deepen their ties as partners sharing common values, as they seek to build stable supply chains for critical minerals and boost defense cooperation amid China's rise. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told visiting Peruvian President Dina Boluarte at his office that he wants to add impetus to Japanese investment in the South American nation, which has one of the world's largest Japanese diasporas, and spur tourism. "We are neighbors across the Pacific Ocean," Ishiba said. "We will aim to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific through defense cooperation." Japan and Peru view each other as "strategic partners" sharing fundamental values such as the rule of law and free trade. Peru is also an important supplier of critical minerals like copper and zinc to resource-poor Japan, and both nations are seeking to build robust supply chains. Boluarte hailed at the summit the strengthening of "the bond" built over years of political and economic cooperation, according to the Japanese government. While Peru has been on good terms with Japan, it has also been forging close ties with China. A Peruvian port in Chancay is symbolic of their deepening ties as it is part of Beijing's Belt and Road infrastructure cooperation initiative and seen as China's attempt to advance its military objectives in the region. During the meeting, Ishiba and Boluarte exchanged views over East Asia, Ukraine, the Middle East and other global issues such as nuclear disarmament, the Japanese government said. The Japanese leader secured the support of the Peruvian president for Japan's efforts to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, according to the Japanese government. Boluarte is visiting Japan for the World Exposition being held in Osaka, western Japan.
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Trade Negotiator Akazawa to Give Diet Explanation on U.S. Deal on Aug. 15
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa will explain the trade agreement reached between Japan and the United States last month at a budget committee meeting of the Diet on Aug. 15, the ruling and opposition parties decided Friday. Akazawa, Japan's chief negotiator for tariff talks with the United States, will provide the explanation after discrepancies between Japan and the United States over reciprocal tariffs under President Donald Trump came to light. The event will take place in an executive meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives. The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan asked the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to hold an out-of-session meeting of the committee to discuss issues related to the U.S. tariffs. With the Japanese and U.S. governments not producing a joint document on the tariff agreement, CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda told a press conference that 'this was a huge misjudgment.' Akazawa said the U.S. side has told him that Washington would revise its executive order on the reciprocal tariffs. Referring to this, Noda said: 'We don't even know when it will be corrected. The uncertainty can't be dispelled.' CDP policy chief Kazuhiko Shigetoku also condemned the government's handling of the tariff agreement, in a meeting of a task force dealing with Japan-U.S. trade issues held at the Diet building. 'The rationale on which Japan judged that not documenting the agreement is a better way has become less convincing,' he said. 'There is lingering concern that the promise might become a 'verbal agreement' again,' Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki said on X. 'An explanation to the Diet is necessary.' Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, also the governor of Osaka Prefecture, told the press at the prefectural government office that the government must give an explanation on the matter. 'What was agreed on is uncertain without any documents on the deal,' he said.
