Korea-Japan summit focuses on steady trilateral cooperation

President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed at their Aug. 23 summit to keep building a “virtuous cycle” in which improvements in Korea-Japan relations also bolster trilateral cooperation with the United States. The two leaders stressed that in a rapidly changing international environment, steady Korea-Japan and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation is of the utmost importance. Their joint statement added that Prime Minister Ishiba reaffirmed his commitment to the positions of previous cabinets on historical awareness, including the 1998 ‘New Korea-Japan Partnership for the 21st Century.’

This summit will be remembered as a meeting where the two leaders sought continuity and sustainability in bilateral relations regardless of political shifts. In the past, ties between the two countries often swung sharply whenever governments changed. President Lee himself had been among the fiercest critics of the previous administration’s Japan policy. Yet before his visit, he signaled a pragmatic approach by saying that overturning agreements such as the comfort women settlement and the forced labor accord would not be desirable.

This approach to Japan reflects a strategic choice for survival amid intensifying U.S.-China rivalry and a fast-changing economic and trade order. Above all, the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, with its America First agenda and pressure on allies, poses a serious challenge for both countries. The need for Korea-Japan and trilateral cooperation to counter North Korea’s advancing nuclear threat also remains unchanged. In addition, with both nations facing the shock of U.S. tariffs, their shared predicament has made communication between Seoul and Tokyo even more essential.

Still, much remains to be resolved in setting the specific direction and pace of progress in bilateral relations. On historical issues, the summit statement mentioned only that past acknowledgments would be upheld. The previous Korean government filled half the glass by advancing a solution to forced labor claims, but the Japanese government has yet to fill the other half. On U.S. efforts to contain China, Japan views a Taiwan contingency as its own, while Korea must focus more on the risk of North Korean provocations than on U.S.-China confrontation.

Significant historical and geopolitical differences remain between the two nations. Even so, the leaders agreed to prevent relations from sliding backward and to advance them with a vision for future cooperation. Building mutual trust through positive messages can foster the strength and courage needed to resolve disagreements and conflicts. Step by step, this is how the virtuous cycle must be deepened.