Japan PM Ishiba, S. Korea President Lee Agree on Reciprocal Visits; 1st Meeting for Leaders on Sidelines of G7 Summit

Pool photo / The Yomiuri Shimbun
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, left, shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung before their talks in Kananaskis, Canada, on Tuesday.
KANANASKIS/BANFF, Canada — Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung agreed on Tuesday to develop stable bilateral relations through close communication, including reciprocal visits by leaders.
They met for the first time on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada.
The two leaders also confirmed their efforts to deepen cooperation among Japan, the United States and South Korea in dealing with issues including North Korea.
At the outset of the about 30-minute talks, Ishiba told Lee, 'This is a memorable year as it marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties [between Japan and South Korea].'
Ishiba added, 'I hope that collaboration and cooperation between Japan and South Korea will become a huge driving force for the benefit of the region and the world' through the strengthening of relations between leaders and exchanges in the private sector.
In response, Lee said, 'As the trade environment and international relations are becoming increasingly difficult, I believe cooperation between South Korea and Japan as complementary partners will bring benefits in many areas for each other.'
Lee apparently made the comment with the tariff policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration in mind.
Lee also told Ishiba, 'I hope that South Korea and Japan will develop better relations in a future-oriented manner.'
According to an announcement by the South Korean government, Ishiba and Lee agreed on their efforts to strengthen cooperation to deal with geopolitical crises, including North Korean issues.
At a press conference after the talks, Ishiba said, 'Under the current strategic environment, Japan-South Korea relations has become more important.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Japan Times

3 hours ago

• Japan Times

Japan scraps ‘two-plus-two' meeting with U.S. over defense spending demand, report says

Japan has canceled a high-level meeting with the U.S. set for July following a demand that Tokyo spend even more on defense, according to a media report. Tokyo abruptly scrapped annual 'two-plus-two' security talks involving the allies' top diplomats and defense chiefs less than two weeks before the meeting after the U.S. asked Japan to hike its defense budget to 3.5% of gross domestic product, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing unidentified sources. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya had been scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington on July 1 for the talks. Asked about the report at a news conference Friday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.S. had 'no comment on that at this point.' The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The report said that the U.S. had initially asked Japan to spend 3% of GDP on defense, though Pentagon officials told The Japan Times earlier that it had set a 'global standard' for Tokyo and other U.S. allies to spend 5% of GDP on defense, in the first official confirmation that Washington is asking Tokyo to pump up its defense budget even further. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear, though the Pentagon has been gripped by upheaval, including high-level dismissals and scandals in recent months under Hegseth. The Financial Times said the new, higher demand was made in recent weeks by Elbridge Colby, the Defense Department's No. 3 official, sparking anger in Tokyo. Colby said during his confirmation hearing in March that Japan 'should be spending at least 3% of GDP on defense as soon as possible,' citing the growing military threat from China and North Korea. Ostensibly pacifist Japan has in recent years undertaken a dramatic transformation of its security policy, including a five-year plan to ramp up defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027. But pouring even more cash into defense coffers would come with significant political costs as the government focuses on domestic economic priorities and amid growing uncertainty over how to secure funds. Japan is currently getting far less bang for its buck as inflation and the yen's diminishing value erode its plans for the country's largest military buildup since World War II. The Financial Times report, citing a senior Japanese official, said the decision to cancel the meeting was also related to the July 20 Upper House election in which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to lose seats. In a statement given to The Japan Times on Friday, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell pointed to a majority of NATO nations that have signed on to U.S. requests to boost defense spending to the 5% level, saying that 'European allies are now setting the global standard for our alliances, especially in Asia, which is 5% of GDP spending on defense.' Asked whether Parnell's remarks apply specifically to Japan, a U.S. defense official said it 'is inclusive for all of our allies across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.' Nakatani said in April that defense spending was within striking distance of the 2% target, at 1.8% of GDP. A Defense Ministry panel of experts, meanwhile, is reportedly set to recommend that the government consider hiking defense spending beyond 2%, and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that future budgets "may top 2%, if needed,' depending on the security environment. Ishiba and senior Japanese officials, however, have said that Japan will not be told how much to spend, reiterating that what is most important is the substance of strengthened defense capabilities — not arbitrary figures. The issue of defense spending among U.S. allies and partners will be at the top of the agenda at next week's NATO leaders' summit in The Hague, which Ishiba is also set to attend. Tensions over security issues and trade have grown since Trump took office, with the U.S. president railing against his county's alliance with Japan, calling the partnership — which turns 65 this year — unfair and 'one-sided,' while threatening Tokyo and other allies and partners with onerous tariffs on key sectors such as automobiles and steel.

Japan Today

7 hours ago

• Japan Today

Ishiba to visit Netherlands from Tuesday for NATO summit

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, right, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, shake hands at the end of a joint press briefing, at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on April 9. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will be in the Netherlands for three days from Tuesday to attend a NATO summit, the government said Friday, as Japan aims to deepen its partnership with the military alliance. It will be the fourth straight year that a sitting Japanese prime minister has participated in a NATO summit. Japan is not a NATO member but is one of the alliance's Indo-Pacific partners. Ishiba also plans to hold bilateral talks with leaders of NATO members and those of its partners while in the Hague for the summit, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. U.S. President Donald Trump is among the expected attendees at the two-day summit from Tuesday. "Given the severe security environment we face, and based on the shared view that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and that of the Indo-Pacific are inseparable, Japan, along with other partners from the region, will discuss how we can cooperate with NATO in concrete terms," Hayashi said. At a meeting in Tokyo in April, Ishiba and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte underlined the need to strengthen the Japan-NATO partnership amid security threats from Russia and China and agreed to push for defense industry cooperation. © KYODO

Yomiuri Shimbun

7 hours ago

• Yomiuri Shimbun

Japan, Thailand Should Speak Up to U.S. on Tariffs; Emerging Countries Should Diversify Their Markets

BANGKOK — Former Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara told The Yomiuri Shimbun that Japan and Thailand should join hands to talk to the United States over the high tariffs sought by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The following text, excerpted from his interview, has been edited for flow and clarity. *** Trump's tariff policy was unexpected. No one thought that the U.S., which has been promoting free trade and capitalism and was the leader in setting up the world order by supporting international organizations like the WTO and IMF after World War II, [would act this way]. The world was peaceful under this world order. Nowadays, the world situation has changed because capitalism grew fast, and even communist countries have to adapt to it. The U.S. thought that under this circumstance, it was at a disadvantage. The other countries could integrate well with the system that the U.S. established, including China. The U.S. used to be the only power, but China silently grew. The labor cost was cheap so everyone invested in China. Trump thought the situation shouldn't continue like this. So, he came up with 'America First,' having economics lead to security. Trump is a businessman. His concept is that 'When we invest in something, we should have a return and profit.' He analyzed what was the U.S.'s strength and weakness. In countries that can't sell goods well, their economies would be weakening, especially in emerging countries, which are export-oriented. [Taking advantage of this situation,] Trump imposed tariffs as a tool to bring the others to the table to lessen what the U.S. lost [in terms of a trade deficit], or even to gain a surplus. Thailand has a good relationship with the U.S. and Western countries. We have established our relationship with China because we want to trade, and we learned that relying on one side could harm the country's [Thailand's] security. I believe that trade is important, but relationships are more essential, which includes economic, security, cultural, social and geopolitics. If the Thai [tariff] negotiation team thinks like me, they should bring other aspects to the table, too. We [Thailand] have to tell them [the U.S.] how important we are [to the U.S.] in this region. ASEAN is one of the U.S.'s targets because we have large trade surplus with the U.S., and we are exporters. The U.S. thought it's not difficult to talk with ASEAN because ASEAN depends on the U.S. market. Now it is a chance for the U.S. to request ASEAN to purchase their goods. Each ASEAN country has a different level of economic growth. Some countries are closer to the U.S., while the others are not. I think it is hard to unite. We should diversify our market to other countries like those in Africa, South America and the Middle East. The U.S. once forced yen appreciation during the Plaza Accord, but it didn't make the U.S. and Japan hate each other. This situation is similar [now in that the U.S. tries to impose high tariffs on its allies]. Thailand exports cars to the U.S. and faces high tariff rates. Japan can speak on Thailand's behalf against collecting high tariffs from Thailand because it would affect both Thailand and Japan. For automobiles, Japan can tell the U.S. how much Toyota, Mitsubishi and Isuzu invest in Thailand. We should join hands to talk to the U.S. because both of us are impacted. Japan is a big economy in Asia and it has louder voice. That could help a lot. — This interview was conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Tetsuya Mizuno. Parnpree Bahiddha-NukaraParnpree studied at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, the University of Southern California in the United States and elsewhere before holding government positions related to trade and industrial policy. After serving as a member of Parliament, he served as deputy prime minister and foreign minister from 2023 to 2024. He is 67.