Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi launched a “charm attack” during her first meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

Takaichi has been persistently regarded as tough on South Koreabut she went to great lengths to dispel that image and allay Seoul’s concerns about her approach to bilateral relations during her talks with Lee in Gyeongju. A key challenge for Takaichi will be whether she can quickly build a relationship of trust with Lee, who himself had previously adopted an uncompromising stance toward Japan before changing course and placing more importance on diplomatic relations with Tokyo.

At the start of the meeting, which was open to the media, Takaichi smiled and said:
“I am happy that we were able to meet so soon after I became Prime Minister. I hope that the relations between the two countries will improve. Japan-Korea relations are of great importance».

Takaichi was elected prime minister on October 21In a press conference that day, he pledged to continue stable relations with South Korea.

Lee addressed this statement with humor, saying:
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Not one syllable is different.”
His comment drew laughter during the meeting.

The last time a staunchly conservative Japanese prime minister and a leftist South Korean president were in power simultaneously was in 2017–2020, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Moon Jae-in were in charge.

During that period, relations deteriorated to a point that many observers characterized as the worst level in the post-war era.

Takaichi has been called “the Abe woman” and is viewed with caution in South Korea because of her conservative views on issues such as visits to Yasukuni Shrine — where Japan’s war dead are honored — and the Takeshima Islands in Shimane Prefecture, which South Korea calls Dokdo.
Given this, Takaichi’s main goal in her first meeting with Lee was “to confirm that there is no change in the plan for stable Japan-Korea relations“, as stated by a senior official of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Takaichi decided not to visit the Yasukuni Shrine during the autumn festival shortly before taking office. Furthermore, she sought to show her friendly side, saying at her inaugural press conference as prime minister: “There seem to be various concerns for me, but I love Korean seaweed nori».
This comment was capitalized on by Lee, who presented Takaichi with Korean nori and cosmetics upon their meeting. Lee also livened up the conversation by mentioning Takaichi’s hobbies, which include playing the drums. According to the South Korean government, the two leaders did not directly address historical issues in their meeting.

United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping also held talks on Thursday in South Korea, ahead of the Takaichi-Li meeting. Although Takaichi and Lee have different political positions, they are united by a common sense of urgency in the face of an international environment more difficult than the Abe-Moon era, due – among other things – to increasingly rigid policy “America first” of the second Trump administration, the US-China confrontation and the military cooperation between China, Russia and North Korea.

After their talks, Takaichi said she and Li agreed to show “leadership” to “manage” the issues on which they disagree. They also expressed their desire to promote mutual visits.