South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (right) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of their talks in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Oct. 30, 2025. (Kyodo News via Getty Images)
The leaders of South Korea and Japan will hold a summit on Tuesday to discuss deepening practical cooperation across the board as well as regional and global challenges, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday.
President Lee Jae Myung will travel to Nara from Tuesday to Wednesday at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Nara is Takaichi’s home prefecture and her political base.
Lee is to hold a meeting with Takaichi upon his arrival Tuesday afternoon, followed by a banquet.
The two leaders are “expected to exchange views on regional and global issues, as well as discuss ways to strengthen practical cooperation across a wide range of fields directly affecting people’s lives, including the economy, society and culture,” Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.
Lee’s visit comes shortly after his four-day state visit to China beginning Jan. 4, amid growing Japan-China tensions related to Taiwan, which Beijing views as part of China and reserves the right to reunite by force, and signs that the dispute could widen beyond the issue.
Lee and Takaichi will also participate in a friendship event on Wednesday. Later that afternoon, Lee will meet with members of the Korean community in Japan before returning home.
Cheong Wa Dae said Lee’s visit to Nara is expected to “realize an early bilateral visit following Prime Minister Takaichi’s inauguration, and thereby give full effect to the significance of shuttle diplomacy through frequent reciprocal visits between the two countries.”
Lee’s reciprocal visit to Japan follows the leaders’ first in-person summit on Oct. 30, held on the margins of the 2025 APEC summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
The visit, at the same time, is expected to “solidify the trajectory toward the development of future-oriented and stable Korea-Japan relations,” Cheong Wa Dae added.
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