SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� South Korean President and Japanese Prime Minister were set to hold their fourth meeting in about six months on Tuesday, underscoring their push to between the historical in the face of geopolitical challenges.
Lee will host Takaichi in his hometown of Andong, a southeastern South Korean city famous for a centuries-old traditional folk village that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In January, the two met in Takaichi鈥檚 hometown of , an ancient Japanese capital.
The meetings mark the first time sitting leaders of the two countries have visited each other鈥檚 hometowns.
South Korea鈥檚 presidential office expressed hope that Tuesday鈥檚 summit would strengthen mutual trust between Lee and Takaichi. Takaichi told reporters Tuesday morning she hopes the talks will deepen cooperation 鈥渦nder the severe geopolitical conditions such as situations in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.鈥�
The summit’s official agenda includes economic and energy cooperation, and development of their bilateral ties, which have no current sticking points. Experts say the meeting likely will proceed smoothly and the relationship will remain on a positive trajectory for now.
鈥淭he two countries put more emphasis on agenda for cooperation than contentious issues,鈥� said Choi Eunmi, a Japan expert at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies. 鈥淭hey would now think scenes of constantly fluctuating relationship or eventually negative bilateral ties won鈥檛 be helpful to anyone now.鈥�
South Korea and Japan are both key U.S. allies with vibrant democracies. But their relationship has long experienced severe ups and downs over grievances stemming from Japan鈥檚 35-year colonization of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II.
Relations began improving in 2023 when Lee and Takaichi鈥檚 took steps to move beyond history disputes and strengthen cooperation, saying they faced common challenges like the U.S.-China strategic competition, supply chain vulnerabilities and .
When Lee and Takaichi each took office as new leaders last year, observers worried about Takaichi鈥檚 reputation as a right-wing security hawk and anticipation that Lee, a political liberal, would tilt toward North Korea and China and away from the U.S. and Japan. But they have maintained cooperation, even in some unprecedented ways.
In August, two months before Takaichi鈥檚 inauguration, Lee became the first South Korean leader to choose Japan as his first destination for a bilateral summit. At the end of their meeting in January, Lee and Takaichi such as BTS鈥� 鈥淒ynamite鈥� in a jam session arranged by the Japanese leader, a heavy metal fan who was a drummer in her college days.
Lee has said he and Takaichi share a view that national leaders must act differently than ordinary politicians. But many observers say the two leaders also likely feel the need to tighten cooperation because they have more grave geopolitical difficulties than their predecessors such as U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 and global economic damage caused by the Iran war.
South Korea and Japan both have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. business investments. Trump鈥檚 tariff war and his to security threaten the trust in the U.S. held by many South Korean and Japanese.
Ties between Seoul and Tokyo are so delicate they could suffer unexpected setbacks if they fail to formulate coping measures for explosive issues such as Japan鈥檚 colonial-era mobilization of Koreans as and , according to experts, who say wrangling over those issues has eased as the two governments try to avoid public discussions.
鈥淏oth countries aren鈥檛 talking about how to resolve and prevent recurrences of conflicts over those issues and we don鈥檛 know when they could occur again,鈥� Choi said.
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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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