Japan And South Korea Holds First Bilateral Finance Leaders Meet After 7 Years

On Tuesday (May 2), Japan and South Korea held their first bilateral finance leaders' meeting in seven years, indicating that relations between the two are warming amid shared challenges such as geopolitical tensions and slowing economic growth.

The resumption of bilateral financial talks comes ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's upcoming visit to South Korea for talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol next week.

"Japan and South Korea are important neighbours that must work together to address various global and economic challenges, as well as regional and international community challenges," Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Choo Kyung-ho.

"In terms of geopolitical challenges, we have North Korea developing nuclear weapons and Russia invading Ukraine." "These are unacceptable to Japan, and they are something the two countries must address together," he said.

Choo stated that the two countries can strengthen private and public-sector collaboration in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and batteries.

"We need to strengthen cooperation between financial authorities on the recent emergence of geopolitical risks and supply chain instability," Choo said in his opening remarks.

Choo also urged Japan to quickly restore South Korea to the "white list" of countries with fast-track trade status during a meeting on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) meeting this week.

Due to disagreements over wartime history, the regular annual dialogue between the two countries' finance ministers has been suspended since 2016.

However, despite North Korea's frequent missile launches and China's more assertive role on the global stage, relations between US allies have improved in recent months.

Kishida and Yoon agreed to put aside their difficult shared history and work together to address regional security challenges at a historic summit in Tokyo last month.

Suzuki expressed his hope that Japan and South Korea can continue their bilateral financial dialogue, which would help to improve relations between the two countries.