Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol affirmed Friday their commitment to boost the bilateral relationship, even after the Japanese leader steps down from his post.
Kishida told reporters in Seoul after his presumably last summit with Yoon that the two governments also signed a memorandum to cooperate in the evacuation of their nationals in the case of a crisis in a third country.
They also agreed to begin talks on specific measures to streamline immigration procedures for visitors between the two countries, said Kishida, whose tenure as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s chief will end after a leadership election later this month. The new party head is all but certain to become Japan’s next prime minister.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (2nd from R) and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (far L) hold talks at the presidential office in Seoul on Sept. 6, 2024. (Kyodo)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (L) and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands ahead of their talks in Seoul on Sept. 6, 2024. (Kyodo)
The leaders affirmed Japan and South Korea will be “sustainably strengthening cooperation and exchanges,” while looking back on the progress they have made in improving bilateral ties that had been soured by disputes over history and territory, Kishida said.
The summit was held as the two neighboring countries seek to bolster their relations ahead of the 60th anniversary next year of normalization of their ties. They are also stepping up trilateral efforts with the United States in addressing regional issues, including North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida waves at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Sept. 6, 2024, as he prepares to depart for a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul. (Kyodo)
Kishida’s trip to South Korea through Saturday is part of “shuttle diplomacy,” or regular mutual visits, which the two leaders agreed to resume in March last year when Yoon became the first South Korean leader to visit Japan in nearly four years.
Bilateral relations improved since Yoon took office in 2022, with his administration announcing the following year a government-backed foundation to compensate plaintiffs who had won lawsuits against Japanese companies over alleged forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Japan has reiterated its stance that issues related to its colonization of the Korean Peninsula were settled under a 1965 agreement normalizing ties with South Korea.
Kishida is set to step down as prime minister after his LDP’s leadership election on Sept. 27. During a press conference last week, Yoon said he would continue working to enhance bilateral relations with Kishida’s successor.
Meanwhile, South Korean left-wing newspaper Hankyoreh said in a recent editorial that Kishida had proposed almost no measures to reciprocate South Korea’s compromise on history issues, saying, “If he just comes empty-handed, takes a photo (with Yoon) and goes home, he will rub salt into the wounds of the South Korean people.”
Civic group members put stickers on fellow members wearing masks of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a protest in Seoul on Sept. 6, 2024. The stickers bore phrases such as “pro-Japan” and “traitor.” (Kyodo)
Related coverage:
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South Korea’s Yoon vows cooperation with Japan even after Kishida exits
Japan PM Kishida eyes visit to South Korea in early Sept.
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