[Title] Press Conference by Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru regarding the Japan-Republic of Korea Summit Meeting and Other Matters

[Opening statement]

I will now make a statement. I have just finished holding a summit meeting with President LEE Jae Myung of the Republic of Korea (ROK). This was our third face-to-face meeting since President Lee took office in June, and the first time in 21 years that a Japanese prime minister visited a regional city in the ROK as part of a bilateral visit.

Last month, President Lee visited Japan. This visit I have made to the ROK demonstrates that the "shuttle diplomacy" being pursued by the leaders of both our countries is being implemented steadily, and that Japan-ROK relations, which are strategically critical, are developing in a stable manner. In that regard, I consider this visit to have been extremely significant.

As we are pursuing "shuttle diplomacy," I would really like to make these visits not something that happens once or twice a year, but instead something truly worthy of the term "shuttle" by making these visits more frequent. I believe that is entirely possible, given how close Japan and the ROK are in terms of both geography and travel time.

In today's meeting, we deepened our discussions across a broader range of topics, building upon the outcome of our recent meeting in Tokyo. We also agreed to develop Japan-ROK relations in a stable manner. In particular, the current strategic environment is increasing dramatically in severity. We confirmed that we will maintain our strategic communication in the fields of security and economic security with a view to responding in close coordination.

In addition, we agreed to establish a framework for our two countries to cooperate in identifying solutions to address regional revitalization, the heavy concentration of people and institutions in our capital cities, and the aging of our societies alongside a falling birthrate, among other social issues that Japan and the ROK face in common.

Yesterday in Tokyo bilateral consultations got underway, headed by vice-ministerial-level officials. I hope we further enhance these consultations through a multilayered approach having participants at various levels, including not only working-level officials and politicians but also private sector entities, academics, and local governments all engaged in exchanges of views with their foreign counterparts. Japan and the ROK are already moving forward in discussions aimed at cooperation in such fields as hydrogen and ammonia. The potential for cooperation exists in a large number of fields. Today we agreed to organize the Japan-Korea Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation to discuss cooperation in science and technology fields, including AI.

We also exchanged views on regional situations, including the Indo-Pacific and Palestine. We reaffirmed we will work closely together between Japan and the ROK as well as among Japan, the ROK and the U.S., towards the complete denuclearization of North Korea. I also expressed my appreciation for the ROK's consistent support towards the immediate resolution of the abductions issue.

The international community is unmistakably at a historic turning point. On that account, I have made every effort to resolutely uphold the free and open international order based on the rule of law and, to that end, build relationships of trust and strengthen solidarity with a wide range of countries.

President Lee Jae Myung and I both recently delivered speeches at the UN General Assembly. Reading President Lee's speech again, I noticed that there were really a sizeable number of areas that overlapped my own address, even though that was not something we had coordinated beforehand. One key phrase for us was "robust democracy." President Lee's speech underlined that the ROK puts that kind of democracy into practice and defends it thoroughly, for the sake of the ROK and also the entire world. In my own UN General Assembly speech, I said robust democracy involves rejecting narrow-minded nationalism, never falling for irresponsible populism, engaging in healthy discourse, and squarely facing the past with integrity. I think this message and President Lee's address shared a deep foundation in common.

Through this round of "shuttle diplomacy," I once again felt the importance of Japan as a nation continuing to make efforts into the future so that the Japan-ROK cooperative relationship will become even stronger and that our close cooperation will contribute to both the region and the international community as a whole. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to President Lee as well as everyone in the ROK government for kindly hosting this visit. I will end my opening statement here.

(On any concrete progress that was made regarding matters confirmed during the summit meeting in Tokyo last month, specifically, the launch of a consultative framework on shared challenges such as population decline and the falling birthrate and the heavy concentration of people and institutions in the two nations' capital cities, and cooperation towards the success of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in the ROK city of Gyeongju next month; on how Prime Minister Ishiba intends to hand down to his successor the recent history of improved bilateral relations with President Lee, in light of 2025 marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-ROK relations, against a backdrop of what might not easily be termed smooth relations in the past, despite deep historical ties)

Yes, thank you for asking about that. I mentioned this in my opening statement just now, but yesterday we launched just such a framework for consultations, headed by officials at the vice-ministerial level. We have reached a shared understanding of the topics we should discuss going forward, and while there are still various matters that need to be coordinated from now by our working-level officials, such as which ministries or agencies will handle these discussions, I personally believe that this is a truly significant development for our countries, made possible through President Lee's strong leadership.

Local region exchanges are also underway. For example, my home district of Tottori Prefecture and Gangwon Province have already held exchanges of views close to 30 times, with ongoing discussions regarding our declining populations, overconcentration in our capital cities, and so on. This is not something limited to Tottori. Local governments all around Japan have been engaged in these kinds of discussions with local governments in the ROK. I consider it to be of tremendous significance that we have now progressed to a situation where discussions are moving forward in a multilayered, accelerated manner between our national governments, our local governments, and also the private sector and universities.

In addition, what I hope for the next administration is that it advances these relations in an irreversible manner so that they flourish and never regress. I want the next administration to fully recognize the importance of the Japan-ROK relationship and understand that cooperative relations between Japan and the ROK not only benefit both countries, but also contribute greatly to the region as a whole and the entire world. It should also understand that it is only natural for the ROK, as a different country, to have a perspective distinct from ours.

I believe we must have the courage and integrity to truly face history squarely. It is not the case that we will always share the same perspective. In fact, there will be few cases where our views align. That said, I really feel that us adopting the stance of having the integrity and the courage to squarely face history is something that the people of the ROK will understand.

(On how Prime Minister Ishiba assesses the efforts he made on both the domestic and international fronts over the past year, in light of tomorrow being exactly one year since he took office; on what expectations he holds for the next administration in terms of both domestic affairs and foreign policy; and on the current status of Prime Minister Ishiba's thoughts regarding a message to mark the 80th year since the end of the war, considering that he indicated during a recent press conference that he wanted to touch upon reasons the war was unable to be stopped and the role of politics)

I don't think that one should evaluate one's own performance. But I believe that my cabinet has made every possible effort, acting in a truly sincere manner towards the people, towards the nation, and towards the next generation. Through the cooperation of many people indeed, and through the cooperation of many in both the ruling and opposition parties, we passed bills and treaties in almost every case, and without any delays. I can only express my sincere appreciation to all those involved. I consider the evaluation of my tenure as something to be done by the next generation. I have no intention to pat myself on the back here, or list up what my administration has accomplished.

Also, regarding [a message to mark] 80 years [since the end of the war], at this moment, nothing has been definitively decided regarding the format or content. In the period leading up to today's Japan-ROK summit, I engaged in a substantial number of discussions in preparation for today's bilateral meeting and also the UN General Assembly speech that preceded it, and I dedicated myself entirely to those preparations. Naturally, it is not the case that these all exist independent of each other, and I have voiced my own views, as well as our collective position, in a series of speeches, including those I made at the memorial ceremonies for the war dead in Nagasaki, and before that in Hiroshima, as well as my UN General Assembly address. This will not in any way be something that revises our historical understanding. I will only say that neither the format nor the content have been finalized as of right now.