South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to Japan on Tuesday was historic in at least two ways. His first stop was a meeting with Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo. The visit comes ahead of Lee’s own important summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. on June 12. It represents a bilateral promise to recommit to deepening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
In this private meeting at the premier’s residence, Lee and Ishiba tried to hash things out on all sides. They prioritized improving security collaboration and deepening relationships particularly with the United States. They agreed on the necessity of increasing cooperation given the growing dangers in the region from North Korea, which has upped the ante with nuclear weapons. “As the strategic environment surrounding both our countries grows increasingly severe, the importance of our relations, as well as trilateral cooperation with the United States, continues to grow,” Ishiba stated.
Lee reaffirmed his solid support for improving our relationship with Japan. He reaffirmed the need to collaborate more closely to address North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations. He was clearly frustrated with past attempts. Those attempts failed to address the underlying anger and frustration stemming from Japan’s colonial rule of Korea. Given the past animosities, Lee acknowledged the importance of working to ensure unbreakable trilateral solidarity among South Korea, Japan, and the U.S.
They went farther, criticizing the trilateral pact that their predecessors signed. This agreement is meant to improve the overall security culture and practices of the entire region. In fact, both leaders were in agreement to an especially military-heavy response. They made the point that they now host 80,000 U.S. soldiers, dozens of warships and hundreds of military aircraft.
Lee’s visit to Tokyo was warmly welcomed by Japanese leaders and is viewed as a major diplomatic gesture. His choice to stop in Japan on his way to Washington sends a strong signal that improving South Korea-Japan relations is a priority. Lee stated that it is essential to create “a virtuous cycle in which the development of South Korea-Japan relations leads to stronger cooperation.”
Lee and Ishiba made security a priority, in addition to economic issues. They arrived at a compromise to maintain the 15 percent tariffs on U.S. imports of their products. This agreement highlights their desire to work together in a bipartisan manner on economic issues as they manage outside currents.
The visit follows recent controversies regarding Japanese officials visiting a shrine dedicated to Japan’s war dead, which many Koreans perceive as a symbol of Japan’s wartime aggression. Throughout the visit, both leaders stressed the need to move beyond historical resentments to build a more collaborative future.
