TOKYO: As the two US allies pursue closer ties, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Tuesday( May 2 ) that he intends to travel to South Korea next week for talks with President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Following Kishida and Yoon’s agreement to end tit-for-tat industry curbs at a summit in Tokyo in March, the Chinese premier would make his second trip to the nation since 2018.
Years of bitter conflict between the neighbors resulted from Japan’s utilization of forced labor during World War II.
Yoon, however, has been eager to put an end to the dispute and put up a forward against issues in the region, such as North Korea.
Kishida stated in Ghana, the second leg of a tour to four African countries and Singapore,” We are coordinating( my ) visit to South Korea on May 7 and 8, if circumstances permit.”
He told reporters that the trip, which comes before the G7 summit in Hiroshima,” is a good opportunity to hold an honest trade of opinions over accelerating Japan and South Korea’s partnership and the quickly changing foreign environment.”
Kishida expressed his desire for the journey to” give momentum to” shuttle diplomacy between South Korea and Japan.
The leaders agreed in March to resume their routine shared sessions, which had been put on hold for more than ten years, and Kishida has invited Yoon to the G7 summit from May 19 to 21.
After South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered Chinese businesses to pay off victims of forced labor during the war in 2018, the countries’ tense relationships deteriorated.
However, Seoul revealed a strategy this year to compensate those who were impacted independently of Tokyo.
Japan’s trade government announced last week that it had begun the process of re-joining South Korea to a so-called” white list” of trusted trade partners after downgrading it in 2019. This was done in an effort to further thaw relationships.