Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi hosts South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for talks on regional stability as Japan faces Chinese pressure over Taiwan.
NARA: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for talks on Tuesday, aiming to showcase strong bilateral ties as China pressures Tokyo over Taiwan.
The leaders convened in Takaichi’s home region of Nara, days after Lee visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The meeting occurs against the backdrop of a heated diplomatic spat between Japan and China.
This was triggered by Takaichi’s suggestion in November that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacks Taiwan.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, reacted angrily by blocking exports to Japan of “dual-use” items with potential military applications.
“In this increasingly complex situation and within this rapidly changing international order, we must continue to make progress toward a better future,” Lee said at the meeting’s start.
“Therefore, cooperation between our two countries is more important than ever.”
Takaichi said she told Lee that “while advancing Japan-South Korea relations, both countries should cooperate to ensure regional stability and fulfill their respective roles.”
The two US allies have already agreed to strengthen cooperation on economic security, regional issues, and artificial intelligence.
Analysts said they are also expected to compare notes on Washington after President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariffs and “America First” approach.
Tense regional geopolitics could provide Takaichi and Lee “further impetus for wanting to build stronger relations”, said Benoit Hardy-Chartrand, an East Asian geopolitics expert at Temple University.
“Behind closed doors, the leaders will certainly discuss the current Japan-China crisis, as Beijing’s retaliatory measures, including export controls, will have an impact on Korea as well,” Hardy-Chartrand told AFP.
Lee said in an interview with NHK that it was not his place to “intervene or get involved” in the Japan-China row.
“From the standpoint of peace and stability in Northeast Asia, confrontation between China and Japan is undesirable,” he said.
Hardy-Chartrand said Seoul likely felt it necessary for Lee to visit Japan soon after China “to demonstrate that Seoul is not favouring one side over the other.”
Professor Yee Kuang Heng from the University of Tokyo said the leaders may discuss the fallout from China’s economic coercion that both nations have experienced.
“Takaichi will be wary of China’s wedge strategy designed to drive divisions between ROK and Japan and will want to re-emphasise common ground,” Heng told AFP.
Bitter memories of Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula have long shadowed bilateral ties.
Lee’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, had sought to improve relations with Japan before his removal from office.
Lee has described South Korea and Japan as “neighbours sharing a front yard.”
