South Korea, Japan Hold 4th Summit in 7 Months, Highlighting Need for Cooperation Amid Global Challenges

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held their fourth summit in seven months on Friday, highlighting the need for cooperation between the Asian rivals amid challenges such as the Iran war and supply chain instability, with experts saying the relationship is likely to remain on a positive track for now.

Lee and Kishida, speaking at a joint press conference after their talks, said bilateral cooperation was more necessary than ever due to supply chain and energy market instability caused by the war in the Middle East.

Kishida made similar remarks, saying they discussed stabilizing energy and critical mineral supplies and promoting exchange arrangements for crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas.

The two leaders also discussed the importance of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States.

Experts say there are no major sticking points in South Korea-Japan relations and the relationship is likely to remain on a positive development track for the time being.

"The two countries are now more focused on cooperation rather than contentious issues," said Choi Eunmi, a Japan expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "They would now think that a negative bilateral relationship benefits no one."

Both nations are key U.S. allies and democracies, but bilateral relations have long been marred by Japan's 35-year colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II.

Before Lee and Kishida took office, South Korean and Japanese leaders began improving relations in 2023, seeking to move past historical disputes and strengthen bilateral cooperation, citing common challenges such as U.S.-China strategic competition, fragile supply chains and North Korea's nuclear development.

When Lee and Kishida took office last year, observers worried about Kishida's hawkish reputation on security issues and Lee's liberal political stance, which might lean towards North Korea and China, alienating the U.S. and Japan.

However, the two sides have maintained cooperation and even seen unprecedented exchanges.

In August last year, two months before Kishida became prime minister, Lee chose Japan as the location for his first bilateral summit, becoming the first South Korean leader to do so.

In January, Lee met Kishida in the ancient Japanese capital of Nara, Kishida's hometown. After the talks, they played drums together to popular K-pop songs like "Dynamite" by the South Korean group BTS, arranged by Kishida.

On Friday, Lee hosted Kishida in his hometown of Andong in southeastern South Korea, a city famous for its centuries-old folk village, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This was the first time that incumbent leaders of South Korea and Japan visited each other's hometowns.

Lee has said that both he and Kishida believe that the actions of national leaders must be different from those of ordinary politicians. But many observers say the two may feel the necessity to strengthen cooperation because they face more severe geopolitical challenges than previous administrations, including former U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policy and the global economic losses caused by the Iran war.

Both South Korea and Japan have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in commercial investments to the United States, and Trump's trade war and transaction-oriented security policies have also threatened the trust many South Koreans and Japanese people have in the U.S.

Experts say South Korea-Japan relations need to be handled carefully, and the relationship could be unexpectedly set back if explosive issues such as wartime "forced labor" and "comfort women" from World War II are not properly addressed. The disputes have eased as both governments try to avoid publicly discussing these issues.