Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung shake hands ahead of their summit held on Oct. 30, 2025, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju, South Korea. (pool photo)
President Lee Jae Myung will visit Japan’s Nara Prefecture on Tuesday and Wednesday to hold a bilateral summit with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. This visit was prompted by a promise by the two leaders to conduct reciprocal visits to each other’s countries during their previous meeting at last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, held in Korea. Lee intends to utilize this summit to strengthen his pragmatic diplomacy approach while also making headway on issues related to the thorny history between South Korea and Japan.
Seoul has made clear its determination to use this visit to make progress on historical issues. Blue House national security adviser Wi Sung-lac stated during a briefing Friday that one of the biggest goals of the upcoming trip was to “enhance humanitarian cooperation with Japan on unresolved historical matters, including issues related to the Chosei undersea coal mine.”
The Chosei undersea coal mine is a historic site located on the coast of Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture. It is also a location where 183 laborers, including 136 Korean forced laborers, died on Feb. 3, 1942, when the mine flooded following the collapse of the ceiling of a tunnel.
The Blue House believes that while it may be difficult for the Japanese government to shift its stance on historical matters immediately, eliciting a positive response on the excavation of remains from the accident in question — an issue the Japanese government has previously been reluctant to address directly — would be a step in the right direction.
As China-Japan relations reach a new low, observers are closely watching to see if Lee can manage to stay neutral while carrying out his signature interest-driven pragmatic diplomacy.
China is ramping up pressure on Japan by tightening export permits and authorization on key rare minerals, including rare earths, in response to Japan’s export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. As Japanese businesses are heavily reliant on Chinese rare earths, supply chain risks are bound to increase.
Both Tokyo and Beijing have ratcheted up the tenor of their messages to Seoul in recent weeks.
Chinese President Xi Jinping put pressure on Lee during their summit on Jan. 5 by effectively urging him to side with Beijing amid this conflict by calling on Seoul to “stand on the right side of history” and “make the right strategic choice.”
Japan, meanwhile, is emphasizing tightened solidarity with its allies, demonstrated by Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s dispatch to the US to meet his US counterpart on Monday, ahead of the summit. The move is read as increasing pressure on South Korea to take a clearer stance on the containment of China.
Lee, for his part, has repeatedly signaled his intent to remain neutral. During a luncheon in Shanghai on Wednesday with the press corps that accompanied him on his trip to China, Lee spoke frankly about not taking any one side over the other in the ongoing spat between China and Japan.
“If you intervene in a reasonable quarrel between adults, you will probably end up resented by both sides,” he told reporters.
Experts assess that the heightened tension between China and Japan may actually work in Korea’s favor.
“Talks with Japan are aimed at cooperation and shared next-generation tasks aimed at a relationship on the regional and global level,” said Jo Yang-hyeon, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. “Meanwhile, our stock is up with China as well, so the current playing field isn’t necessarily working against us in terms of diplomatic leverage as Korea attempts to carry out pragmatic diplomacy based on its national interests.”
By Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter; Jang Ye-ji, staff reporter
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