Description: Newly elected South Korean President, Lee Jae Myung visited Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba in his first foreign visit as the countries marked a historic diplomatic reconciliation. Lee’s visit to Japan was labeled as historic due to strained bilateral ties in the past between the two countries over their colonial history, when Japan ruled South Korea for more than three decades. The leaders pledged intensifying cooperation in several fields of bilateral interest such as AI development, regional security, trade relations and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Lee and Ishiba met in times of escalated economic tensions by both countries with their largest military ally, the US, and while balancing ties with their largest trade partners in China. The leaders focused on discussing regional security issues such as the North Korean threat, China’s increased military presence in the disputed South China Sea and Beijing’s ambitions for invading Taiwan. The positive spirit of cooperation could be compromised since Ishiba is facing growing domestic disapproval having lost the vote of confidence in both houses of Parliament.
Impact: Lee and Ishiba’s diplomatic reconciliation arrives as a natural substitute of having lost the confidence in their bilateral ties with the US and in times of rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo – Pacific. Japan and South Korea are experiencing pressure on their economies due to the US tariff policies and are aiming at defusing tensions with the dominant China in the region, potentially reducing the risk of Beijing’s ambitions to escalate its goals regarding the invasion of Taiwan. North Korea is also a growing threat to both countries and the strengthening of bilateral ties would most certainly serve as potential deterrent from North Korean aggression in the future. The political continuity of the diplomatic efforts made by the leaders of the two countries would be contingent mostly on Ishiba’s domestic political survival, which is currently under severe threat, facing domestic opposition to resign from office.