UNJournal Jon Lee |   President Lee Jae-myung will visit Nara, Japan, on January 13 for a summit with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. This summit, where South Korea and Japan will discuss complex issues—past history, the economy, trade and regional security—is seen as both a catalyst for improved relations and a source of new tensions.

Nara Prefecture, chosen as the venue for the summit, is the birthplace of ancient Japanese culture and a historically symbolic venue for East Asian exchange.
 

The Korean media has called this "a crossroads between forward-looking messages and historical awareness." Indeed, the agenda for the summit is expected to include sensitive historical issues, such as the colonial-era coal mine issue, which involved the forced labor of Koreans at the Sado Mine on an island off Niigata Prefecture.

Foreign media outlets called the summit a "structural challenge in South Korea-Japan relations," predicting that the focus will likely be on management and coordinating messages rather than short-term solutions.

In the economic sphere, South Korea's accession to the CPTPP is a key topic of discussion. Japanese media reported that "Japan's political and diplomatic cooperation is a key variable in South Korea's process of pursuing accession." Consequently, the possibility of renewed discussions about Korea lifting import restrictions on seafood from waters near Fukushima is also being raised. Domestic media reported that "this issue is intertwined with public sentiment and trust in safety, making it difficult to reach a conclusion in a short period of time." Foreign media also assessed that "it is a political and social issue that cannot be resolved solely through economic considerations."

International media pointed to the Northeast Asian security environment as another key focus of this meeting. They argued that the North Korean nuclear issue, the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the recently escalating conflict between China and Japan are likely to be discussed indirectly.

Reuters and others analyzed that South Korea is demonstrating "an intention to secure a balanced diplomatic space amidst U.S.-China and China-Japan competition."

This South Korea-Japan summit is seen as a meeting focused on conflict management and maintaining trust rather than on reaching a tangible agreement. The domestic media described it as a "test bed for pragmatic diplomacy," while the Japanese media described it as an "exploratory battle for stabilizing relations."

Diplomatic circles predict that "whether the past can be managed separately from economic and security issues, and what message will be left in symbolic spaces, will be the yardstick for gauging the future direction of Korea-Japan relations."

President Lee Jae-myung’s scheduled social events include a visit to Horyuji Temple, Japan’s first UNESCO cultural heritage site, with Prime Minister Takaichi on January 14. He will then return to Korea after meeting members of Japan’s Korean community.