Lee to visit Japan’s Nara next week for summit talks with Takaichi

Published: 09 Jan. 2026, 12:51

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, poses for a photo with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of their pull-aside meeting held on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Nov. 23, 2025. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung will make a two-day visit to Japan’s Nara prefecture early next week for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties, Blue House said Friday.
 
Lee is scheduled to depart for Japan next Tuesday for the summit talks, which will take place in the Japanese prefecture of Nara, Takaichi’s hometown, Blue House said.
 
The two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of regional and global issues, as well as the economy, society and culture, Blue House said in a statement.
 
Lee and Takaichi last held summit talks on Oct. 30 on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju and briefly met on the margins of the Group of 20 leaders’ gathering in South Africa in November.
 
Lee will attend a friendship event with Takaichi next Wednesday and meet with ethnic Koreans in Japan before returning home that day.
 
The trip will mark Lee’s second visit to the neighboring country, following his visit to Tokyo in August and summit talks with Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.
 
The upcoming visit is expected to help strengthen the future-oriented momentum of bilateral ties through “shuttle diplomacy,” or reciprocal visits, according to Blue House.
 
Lee has said he intends to advance ties with Japan in a future-oriented manner, while not overlooking longstanding wartime history issues stemming from the time when Korea was under Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
 
The planned summit between Lee and Takaichi comes amid heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over the Japanese prime minister’s remarks about Taiwan.

Yonhap