Tokyo Report | Diplomacy | East Asia
The latest Lee-Takaichi summit highlighted not only their warm personal rapport but their priorities: energy and economic security.
Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung attend a summit meeting in Andong, South Korea, May 19, 2026.
On May 19, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae met in Andong, Lee’s hometown, as part of their shuttle diplomacy. This marks their fourth meeting in just six months. The two leaders had already met this January in Takaichi’s hometown of Nara. On average, they have met once every two months since Lee’s inauguration.
The frequency of these meetings, combined with the visibly warm rapport between Lee and Takaichi, is by itself promising for bilateral relations. Despite early concerns over the ideological distance between them, Lee and Takaichi have maintained a notably cordial and cooperative relationship. Their meetings at APEC and other international gatherings have projected personal warmth, while both governments have generally exercised a degree of diplomatic restraint on historically sensitive issues. Lee has avoided actions such as a presidential visit to Dokdo, while Takaichi refrained from dispatching a ministerial-level representative to Takeshima Day. This mutual restraint has helped preserve diplomatic momentum at a time when both governments increasingly recognize the strategic value of closer cooperation.
