South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have deemed it essential to strengthen their cooperative ties and further cement 60 years of normalized diplomatic relations during their summit in Tokyo, amid an "era of turbulence," in the words of the Japanese prime minister, referring to the tariff disputes with the United States and China's rise in the Indo-Pacific.
"Strengthening cooperation between Japan, South Korea, and the United States is critical," Ishiba said. "Peace and stability will not be achieved unless we make active efforts, and this is even more true in an era of turbulence," he added, after thanking the South Korean president for choosing Japan as his first bilateral destination before heading to the United States, the most common choice among South Korean leaders upon taking office.
For the South Korean president, "given the instability of the international order in terms of trade and security, I believe that the Republic of Korea and Japan, which share similar positions in terms of values, order, and ideology, should strengthen their cooperation more than ever," he stated in his opening remarks, reported by the official South Korean news agency, Yonhap.
President Lee, it should be recalled, will meet with Japanese lawmakers on Sunday on the last day of his visit to the country before heading to Washington, DC, for a summit with US President Donald Trump. This is the first since he came to power on June 4 following the massive political crisis unleashed by his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, who orchestrated a failed declaration of martial law late last year.
Following the conclusion of the summit between Ishiba and Lee, a new bilateral memorandum of understanding is expected to be published shortly, reaffirming the historic relations between the two countries after a "painful history," in the words of the South Korean president, referring to episodes such as last November, when Seoul refused to participate in a joint ceremony with Japan after discovering that among the attendees was a lawmaker who had visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where war criminals are buried.
Saturday's statement, in this regard, will reiterate that Japan will not change the "historical awareness" expressed by successive Japanese cabinets, including the 1998 Japan-Korea Joint Declaration, which includes regret and apologies for Japanese colonial rule, according to a draft of the memorandum reported by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
Lee has spent weeks trying to emphasize continuity in relations with Japan and the United States. In a speech marking Liberation Day earlier this month, he called Japan an "indispensable partner," and in an interview with Yomiuri, he stated that he has no intention of changing his current stance of regret regarding his country's use of South Korean sex slaves.
Furthermore, both governments are in the final stages of easing visa restrictions for work and holiday permits. The new rules could be introduced in October, according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
The Working Holiday Visa System is a mutual agreement between Japan and South Korea that allows young citizens to work and live in the other country for up to one year. According to the Japanese Embassy in South Korea, the number of such visas issued by Japan to Koreans is currently limited to 10,000 per year.
