2025年8月24日
President Yoshihiko Noda held a press conference at the party headquarters on 24 August, reporting on his meeting with South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung.
Regarding the meeting with President Lee, Mr Noda stated, ‘This demonstrates the South Korean government and President Lee’s commitment to strengthening Japan-South Korea relations on multiple levels.’ He further emphasized the significance of President Lee choosing Japan as his first bilateral diplomatic visit prior to his US trip, remarking, ‘This is the first time since the normalization of Japan-South Korea relations in 1965. My first bilateral diplomatic visit as Prime Minister was also to South Korea. I believe we share a common sentiment.’
Regarding the meeting’s content, while refraining from commenting on South Korea’s statements, Mr Noda revealed his own assessment: ‘The fact that Prime Minister Ishiba and President Lee exchanged documents during their meeting itself represents significant progress,’ conveying his evaluation of the ‘Joint Press Release’ – the first such joint statement between leaders in 17 years.
Regarding the future direction of Japan-South Korea relations, he stated that the leaders agreed on the need to ‘move forward while acknowledging the past.’ He added that they discussed specific measures, such as ‘whether South Korea intends to join the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) and the status of the Japan-South Korea FTA (Free Trade Agreement).’
Regarding President Lee’s visit to the United States, he proposed that ‘if some form of agreement can be reached, it would be better to sign an agreement document that incorporates Japan’s reflection,’ and suggested ‘efforts should be made to involve the United States in East Asian summit meetings.’
WACOCA: People, Life, Style.