President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea (right) welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi upon her arrival at the hotel hosting their summit in Andong, South Korea, on May 19, 2026. (Yonhap)
Shortly after the leaders of China and the US agreed to establish a “constructive relationship of strategic stability” in their summit in Beijing on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Korea for a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung.At a critical moment of global turmoil, frequent meetings and greater cooperation between the leaders of Korea and Japan — two countries that hold similar values — are to be welcomed. Our two countries need to strengthen meaningful cooperation, coordinating our response to the Middle East crisis and reinforcing energy supply chains while avoiding the appearance of joining forces to contain China.“There’s a storm brewing in the world today,” Lee said during his meeting with Takaichi in his hometown of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Tuesday.Lee added that Korea and Japan “can develop pragmatic yet innovative methods of cooperation while expanding our understanding of and rapport with each other.”“It’s important that our two countries take the initiative in promoting peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region,” Takaichi said in response.This suggests that while Korea is focused on pragmatic cooperation, Japan places more weight on strategic cooperation in terms of regional stabilization.It had been four months since Lee and Takaichi’s last meeting in Nara Prefecture, Japan, in January.The most notable thing about this meeting was the timing of Takaichi’s visit to Korea.Japan has devoted considerable resources to countering China since 2010, when tensions between the two countries began to escalate.In an attempt to upgrade a military long constrained by its pacifist constitution, Japan has raised its defense budget to 2% of GDP and acquired counterstrike capabilities, giving it the option of delivering direct strikes to an opponent’s territory.On May 3, Takaichi expressed her determination to revise the Japanese constitution. She has also sought to strengthen Japan’s alliance with the US and expand and develop military cooperation with such countries as Korea, Australia and the Philippines.But given the increasing likelihood that the US and China would arrive at a strategic compromise during their summit, Japan sought to persuade Trump to visit Tokyo on his way to Beijing and rushed to arrange Takaichi’s trip to Korea.Takaichi’s goal was to head off an excessive détente between Washington and Beijing while also underscoring close ties between Tokyo and Seoul.In his press statement on Tuesday, Lee underlined the significance of Korea and Japan upgrading their “2 + 2” national security meeting to the vice minister level while stressing the importance of “mutual respect and cooperation between Korea, China and Japan.”Korea’s Ministry of National Defense clarified that it’s “not considering the adoption” of an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement with Japan, which has been on Tokyo’s wish list.That seems like a suitable response — boosting strategic cooperation with Japan while preserving some kind of balance.Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
