South Korea and Japan Team Up Before Big U.S. Meeting

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung flew into Tokyo on Saturday to sit down with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

 To strengthen ties between their countries before Lee heads to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday. This is Lee’s first official trip to Japan since he became president in June, and it’s a key moment for the two neighbors to focus on working together, especially on security.

The Tokyo meeting is all about building on a three-way security deal with the United States that their predecessors put in place.

Japan and South Korea have had a rocky past, mostly because of Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945, which still stings for many Koreans.

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Lee, a liberal who won a snap election after conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached, used to be critical of efforts to patch things up with Japan. But since taking office, he’s been all about building bridges, like when he and Ishiba chatted at the G7 summit in Canada in June.

Things got a bit tense recently when South Korea called out Japanese officials for visiting a Tokyo shrine honoring Japan’s war dead—a site many Koreans see as a painful symbol of Japan’s wartime actions. Even so, both countries know they need each other to deal with China’s growing power in the region. With around 80,000 U.S. troops, plus warships and planes, stationed in Japan and South Korea, their teamwork with the U.S. is super important.

In Washington, Lee and Trump will talk about big issues like North Korea, China, and how much South Korea chips in for U.S. troops stationed there—something Trump keeps pushing for. On trade, Japan and South Korea are on the same wavelength, agreeing to 15% tariffs on U.S. imports after Trump threatened tougher ones. 

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This Tokyo get-together shows both countries are serious about keeping their partnership tight, paving the way for Lee’s U.S. trip. It’s a big deal for tackling the region’s challenges together.