South Korean President Lee Myung Bak arrived Sunday in Tokyo for a two-day visit, bringing with him hopes of launching a new bilateral relationship based on pragmatism rather than nationalistic and often conflicting sentiments between the two countries.
Lee's trip marks the resumption of shuttle diplomacy involving mutual visits by the top Japanese and South Korean leaders, which had been suspended after relations soured over history-related issues under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Lee's predecessor, Roh Moo Hyun.
Lee, a former business leader who took office in late February, has advocated a pragmatic approach to diplomacy and has said he will not seek an apology or soul-searching from Japan over its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula as his predecessor repeatedly did.