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| ▲ South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (R) poses for a photo with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of their pull-aside meeting held on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in this Nov. 23, 2025, file photo. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (R) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of their talks in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, southeastern South Korea, in this Oct. 30, 2025, file photo. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) Lee-Japan-summit
(LEAD) Lee to visit Japan's Nara next week for summit talks with Takaichi
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with statement, details; ADDS photo)
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung will make a two-day visit to Japan's Nara prefecture early next week for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.
Lee is scheduled to depart for Japan next Tuesday for the summit talks, which will be held in the Japanese prefecture of Nara, Takaichi's hometown, Cheong Wa Dae said.
The two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of regional and global issues, as well as the economy, society and culture, Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.
Lee and Takaichi last held summit talks on Oct. 30 on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju and briefly met on the margins of the Group of 20 leaders' gathering in South Africa in November.
Lee will attend a friendship event with Takaichi next Wednesday and meet with ethnic Koreans in Japan before returning home that day.
The trip will mark Lee's second visit to the neighboring country after he visited Tokyo in August and held summit talks with Takaichi's predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.
The upcoming visit is expected to help strengthen the future-oriented momentum of bilateral ties through "shuttle diplomacy," or reciprocal visits, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
Lee has said he intends to advance ties with Japan in a future-oriented manner, while not overlooking longstanding wartime history issues stemming from the time when Korea was under Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.
The planned summit between Lee and Takaichi comes as tensions between Tokyo and Beijing remained heightened over the Japanese prime minister's remarks about Taiwan.
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