Amid Global Turmoil, Leaders of Japan and South Korea Grow Closer
Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, have surprised many observers by moving past their nations’ historical grievances.
The leaders of South Korea and Japan were not supposed to get along.
President Lee Jae Myung earned his stripes in a political party that was long skeptical of rapprochement with Japan, which brutally oppressed Korea as a colonial ruler. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has a reputation for arguing that Japan’s wartime atrocities, including on the Korean Peninsula, have been exaggerated.
Yet when the two leaders met in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday — their third summit since October — both reaffirmed what Ms. Takaichi described as a “deepening friendship and trust.”
Mr. Lee characterized the two nations as “strategic partners in jointly responding to the rapidly changing international environment.”
Referring to shocks from the Iran war, he added, “In particular, we agreed that close bilateral cooperation is needed more than ever amid the instability in supply chains and energy markets arising from the recent situation in the Middle East.”
Here’s what to know about Ms. Takaichi’s two-day trip.
What is the history of Korean-Japanese ties?
Although South Korea and Japan are both key U.S. allies, they have frequently clashed over historical and territorial disputes rooted in Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945. The United States has long urged both nations to leave these grievances behind and to work together to help contain China’s expanding military and economic influence.
(Over the weekend, President Trump called both Ms. Takaichi and Mr. Lee to brief them on his talks with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing last week.)
Relations hit a low point around 2019 when the two governments revived a bitter dispute over the legacy of so-called comfort women — Korean women forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military during World War II.
But Mr. Lee’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, repaired ties with Tokyo, arguing that historical differences should not hinder cooperation against security threats from North Korea and China. While Mr. Yoon won praise from Washington, he faced intense domestic backlash, especially from Mr. Lee’s Democratic Party, which was then the main opposition. Mr. Yoon was eventually removed from office following his brief imposition of martial law.
Mr. Lee, a fierce critic of Mr. Yoon, won the presidency last June. Four months later, Ms. Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister.
Observers in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington feared that Korean-Japanese relations were poised to turn frosty again.
How did the two leaders get along?
Mr. Lee and Ms. Takaichi surprised the skeptics.
Upon taking office, Mr. Lee championed pragmatism as a pillar of his diplomacy — an approach that involved strengthening the traditional alliance with Washington while simultaneously improving relations with China and North Korea. It also meant he would not allow historical grievances to stand in the way of a closer partnership with Japan.
Soon after Ms. Takaichi took office, she met with Mr. Lee in Gyeongju, South Korea. Mr. Lee visited her hometown, Nara, in January. A particularly symbolic moment of their developing relationship came when Ms. Takaichi, an amateur heavy metal drummer, invited Mr. Lee — who had no drumming experience — to join her in playing along to K-pop hits, including “Dynamite” by BTS and “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.”
Mr. Lee later invited Ms. Takaichi to his hometown, Andong in central South Korea — an ancient city once renowned for the Confucian scholars who served in royal courts.
Within South Korea, and within Mr. Lee’s own Democratic Party, voices have grown in recent years calling for closer cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo to address global supply chain disruptions and deepening geopolitical uncertainty, including the rapidly shifting foreign policy of the Trump administration.
“Geopolitically, South Korea and Japan have all the more reason to work together to uphold a rules-based international order in light of Russia and North Korea’s sanctions-violating military transactions, China’s expansionist policies in Asia, and trade uncertainties related to Trump’s tariffs and conflict in the Middle East,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
What’s on the menu?
South Korean officials were eager to build on the good will between the two leaders, extending to Ms. Takaichi what they described as “honors and courtesies equivalent to those accorded during a state visit.” A traditional Korean honor guard — resplendent with trumpets and drums — escorted her limousine as it arrived for the summit.
After talks on weighty geopolitical issues, they shared a dinner featuring Andong-style braised chicken — a dish beloved in Korea — paired with Andong soju and Nara sake. They then visited Andong’s Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its traditional tiled houses, to see performances of Korean music and a fire art display.
Ms. Takaichi said she looked forward to continuing shuttle diplomacy, asking Mr. Lee to keep in touch through frequent phone calls and to visit Japan again. “Shall we go to a hot spring the next time you are in Japan? Or where should we go?” she said, looking at Mr. Lee. “I assure you that I will take you to a beautiful place.”
Choe Sang-Hun is the lead reporter for The Times in Seoul, covering South and North Korea.