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Politics
Sep 18, 2025 22:39 (JST)
Seoul, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese and South Korean governments are working to arrange a two-day trip for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the southeastern South Korean city of Busan from around Sept. 30, diplomatic sources have said.
In the envisaged trip, Ishiba is expected to hold talks with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, according to the sources.
It will be Ishiba’s first visit to South Korea since he took office in October 2024, and his last overseas trip before his coming resignation. Ishiba, also president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, recently announced his decision to quit, and the LDP is set to hold an election to pick a new party chief Oct. 4.
At their meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 23, Lee told Ishiba that he hopes to hold his next meeting with the Japanese leader in a regional area in South Korea. They agreed that the two governments will launch discussions to address social issues including aging populations and regional revitalization.
With Japan and South Korea sharing challenges such as overconcentration in metropolitan areas and declining populations in regional areas, Ishiba and Lee at their upcoming meeting will likely aim to bolster the two nations’ cooperation to resolve such problems.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
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