Japan’s outgoing PM visits South Korea, seeking to cement ties before exit

Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba travelled to South Korea on Tuesday, seeking to reinforce fragile ties as his government faces a looming leadership transition.

Analysts say the landmark visit, at the invitation of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, reflects an effort by both nations to consolidate gains in security and economic cooperation while signalling Seoul’s intent to join a Japanese-led trade bloc.

Ishiba’s two-day trip to Busan – the first visit by a Japanese leader to a South Korean city outside Seoul in 21 years – comes as Tokyo’s political landscape is in flux following the prime minister’s resignation earlier this month.

“Prime Minister Ishiba’s visit to Korea follows the resumption of shuttle diplomacy in August, during which the two leaders agreed to meet in Korea in the near future,” South Korean presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung said on Friday, referencing the two leaders’ last meeting in Tokyo.

The last encounter between the countries’ leaders to be held outside Seoul occurred in 2004, when Japan’s Junichiro Koizumi met South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun on Jeju Island.

Shoring up ties