The leaders of South Korea and Japan were not supposed to get along.
President Lee Jae Myung earned his stripes in a political party that was long skeptical of rapprochement with Japan, which brutally oppressed Korea as a colonial ruler. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has a reputation for arguing that Japan’s wartime atrocities, including on the Korean Peninsula, have been exaggerated.
Yet when Mr. Lee and Ms. Takaichi hold a summit meeting in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday, it will be their third since October.
Here’s what to know about Ms. Takaichi’s two-day trip.
What is the history of Korean-Japanese ties?
Although South Korea and Japan are both key U.S. allies, they have frequently clashed over historical and territorial disputes rooted in Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945. The United States has long urged both nations to leave these grievances behind and to work together to help contain China’s expanding military and economic influence.
(Over the weekend, President Trump called both Ms. Takaichi and Mr. Lee to brief them on his talks with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing last week.)
Relations hit a low point around 2019 when the two governments revived a bitter dispute over the legacy of so-called comfort women — Korean women forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military during World War II.
But Mr. Lee’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, repaired ties with Tokyo, arguing that historical differences should not hinder cooperation against security threats from North Korea and China. While Mr. Yoon won praise from Washington, he faced intense domestic backlash, especially from Mr. Lee’s Democratic Party, which was then the main opposition. Mr. Yoon was eventually removed from office following his brief imposition of martial law.
Mr. Lee, a fierce critic of Mr. Yoon, won the presidency last June. Four months later, Ms. Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister.
Observers in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington feared that Korean-Japanese relations were poised to turn frosty again.
How did the two leaders get along?
Mr. Lee and Ms. Takaichi surprised the skeptics.
Upon taking office, Mr. Lee championed pragmatism as a pillar of his diplomacy — an approach that involved strengthening the traditional alliance with Washington while simultaneously improving relations with China and North Korea. It also meant he would not allow historical grievances to stand in the way of a closer partnership with Japan.
Soon after Ms. Takaichi took office, she met with Mr. Lee in Gyeongju, South Korea. Mr. Lee visited her hometown, Nara, in January. A particularly symbolic moment of their developing relationship came when Ms. Takaichi, an amateur heavy metal drummer, invited Mr. Lee — who had no drumming experience — to join her in playing along to K-pop hits, including “Dynamite” by BTS and “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.”
Mr. Lee later invited Ms. Takaichi to his hometown, Andong in central South Korea — an ancient city once renowned for the Confucian scholars who served in royal courts.
Within South Korea, and within Mr. Lee’s own Democratic Party, voices have grown in recent years calling for closer cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo to address global supply chain disruptions and deepening geopolitical uncertainty, including the rapidly shifting foreign policy of the Trump administration.
“Geopolitically, South Korea and Japan have all the more reason to work together to uphold a rules-based international order in light of Russia and North Korea’s sanctions-violating military transactions, China’s expansionist policies in Asia, and trade uncertainties related to Trump’s tariffs and conflict in the Middle East,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
What’s on the menu?
South Korean officials are eager to build on the good will between the two leaders. Mr. Lee’s office announced that Ms. Takaichi would be received on Tuesday with “honors and courtesies equivalent to those accorded during a state visit.”
The summit scheduled that day will address pressing geopolitical challenges, including North Korea’s nuclear threat and the conflict in Iran. Big breakthroughs are unlikely. But Mr. Easley said the meeting could provide momentum for talks aimed at reducing bureaucratic and logistical barriers to joint defense exercises, contingency planning, and resource sharing in overseas missions such as maritime security operations near the Strait of Hormuz.
Later, the leaders will share a more relaxed moment over a dinner featuring Andong-style braised chicken — a dish beloved in Korea — paired with Andong soju and Nara sake. They will then visit Andong’s Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its traditional tiled houses, to see performances of Korean music and a fire art display.
“The most important thing is to deepen personal friendship and trust between the leaders,” Wi Sung-lac, Mr. Lee’s national security adviser, said on the eve of Ms. Takaichi’s trip. “There are various pending issues between the two countries stemming from the past, and public sentiment remains sensitive. But we believe that if the leaders build a solid friendship and trust, it will help resolve difficult issues.”
