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Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called on Friday to maintain the momentum behind an improvement in relations with South Korea during a summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul on Friday.
Kishida’s final, whirlwind trip to his neighbour as leader came as the two leaders seek to seal their new-found partnership which will be tested by imminent changes of leaders in Tokyo and Washington.
Kishida, who will step down this month, emphasised the need to continue efforts to improve bilateral ties, once again expressing sympathy for Koreans who suffered during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.

“There is a lot of history … but it is very important to inherit the efforts of our predecessors who overcame difficult times, and cooperate toward the future,” Kishida told Yoon at the meeting.
“I’ve also said here in Seoul that I feel heartbroken that so many people have had such difficult, sad experiences in such difficult circumstances,” he added, referring to his earlier comment during a visit last year.
Yoon also called for sustaining the positive momentum of cooperation built by the two leaders, saying next year could provide a “turning point” for the relationship to take a leap forward marking its 60th anniversary.
“There are still difficult issues remaining in Korea-Japan relations. I hope that both sides will continue to work together with a forward-looking attitude so that we can continue to take steps toward a brighter future.”


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Japan

Japan’s Kishida, South Korea’s Yoon urge sustaining momentum in improved ties

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at their Seoul summit. Photo: EPA-EFE

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko arrives in Seoul for his final trip to South Korea before he steps down this month. Photo: Kyodo

Critics blast Seoul’s ‘submissive’ Tokyo ties as Kishida seeks Yoon talks before exit

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol meet in Lithuania last year. Photo: Kyodo

The two islet off the coast of South Korea known as Dokdo, or Takeshima in Japan. Photo: AP

US President Joe Biden looks on as Yoon shakes hands with Kishida during a joint news conference last year. Photo: AP

‘Pro-Japanese traitors’: South Korea’s Yoon slammed over wartime whitewashing

Japanese nationalists holding war flags of the Imperial Japanese Army visit Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine earlier this month. Photo: dpa

A group of Japanese lawmakers visits the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on August 15. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters 

South Koreans wearing masks of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida protest in Seoul against joint military drills in June. Photo: AFP

In South Korea, claims of impending martial law inflame political ‘war of attrition’

Student protesters are arrested in Gwangju in 1980, during the period that martial law was last imposed in South Korea. Photo: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been at odds with the opposition since taking office in May 2022. Photo: Kyodo

Lee Jae-myung, head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE / Yonhap

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has rejected the opposition’s claims of possible martial law. Photo: EPA-EFE / Yonhap

From cars to beer and clothes, South Koreans snap up Japanese goods as ties rebound

Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo’s revenue has jumped in South Korea. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

East Asia

Kishida, who steps down this month, made his final, whirlwind trip to his neighbour as the two leaders affirm their new-found partnership


Kishida, who steps down this month, made his final, whirlwind trip to his neighbour as the two leaders affirm their new-found partnership.
