Japan's Ishiba, South Korea's Lee affirm cooperation before Lee meets Trump

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed their commitment to security cooperation on Saturday, ahead of Lee’s planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday.

During his first official visit to Japan since taking office in June, Lee met Ishiba at the prime minister’s residence in Tokyo, where the two discussed bilateral relations, including closer coordination with the United States under a trilateral pact signed by their predecessors.

“Stable relations benefit both our countries and our region,” Ishiba said during expanded summit talks. “It is also crucial that we strengthen our trilateral alliance with the U.S.”

Lee’s surprise election victory—following the impeachment of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol for declaring martial law—had initially fuelled concerns in Tokyo that ties could deteriorate. Lee has been a vocal critic of previous attempts to ease tensions rooted in resentment over Japan’s 1910–45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Last week, Seoul expressed “deep disappointment and regret” after Japanese officials visited a Tokyo shrine honouring Japan’s war dead, which many South Koreans regard as a symbol of wartime aggression. Even so, Lee has signalled support for closer ties, including during his first meeting with Ishiba on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June.

Despite their differences, both U.S. allies remain heavily dependent on Washington to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Together they host around 80,000 American troops, dozens of warships and hundreds of military aircraft.

“As the international order has been unsettled recently over trade and security issues, I believe South Korea and Japan, which share values, systems and ideology, should strengthen cooperation more than ever,” Lee said during his talks with Ishiba.

In Washington, Lee and Trump are expected to address security concerns including China, North Korea, and Seoul’s financial contributions towards U.S. forces stationed in South Korea-an issue on which Trump has repeatedly pressed for increases.

Japan and South Korea also see eye to eye on trade, having agreed to 15% tariffs on U.S. imports of their goods after Trump threatened to impose higher duties.

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