Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was in Seoul Friday for a two-day visit to South Korea. The summit talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol come only days before the prime minister relinquishes his position as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and thus leader of the Japanese government.
That timing makes the visit, for some, a head-scratcher. That betrays a narrow understanding of statecraft in general and the Japan-South Korea relationship in particular. The two men’s final meeting is both an opportunity to review the achievements of the last few years and to underscore the centrality of this partnership to Japanese foreign policy and its national security.
This week’s meeting marks the 12th time the two men have met in their official capacities. It has been a remarkable turnaround in a relationship marked by discord, if not open antagonism. For more than a decade, the Japan-South Korea relationship was in free fall, the product of longstanding historical disputes that had assumed new urgency and immediacy amid decisions that put domestic political concerns above national interests.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.