Prime Minister Kishida, who is visiting the Republic of Korea for the first time since taking office, told reporters after the series of schedules that he was able to deepen his relationship of trust with President Yoon Sung-yeol, and emphasized, "I would like to continue to strengthen our relationship and work together to open up a new era."
Prime Minister Kishida, who is visiting the ROK as part of the "shuttle diplomacy" between the two leaders, held a summit meeting with President Yoon Sung-nyeol on November 7, and shared the recognition that the movement to improve Japan-ROK relations has been on track, and confirmed that Japan will strengthen security cooperation in light of North Korea's nuclear and missile issues.
In relation to the issue of "requisition" during the Pacific War, he conveyed his intention to carry on the position of successive Cabinets on historical recognition as a whole, and stated, "I am heartbroken that so many people have suffered so much."
Prime Minister Kishida spoke to reporters in Seoul on the morning of March 8 and commented on the dinner held after the summit meeting on June 7, saying, "Last night, I was invited to the President's official residence and had meaningful conversations in terms of deepening our mutual trust, including personal matters, and as a result, I feel that we were able to deepen our relationship of trust. I would like to further strengthen the relationship of trust with President Yoon and work together to open up a new era."
Prior to this, Prime Minister Kishida met with leaders of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary League, a bipartisan group of Korean parliamentarians, as well as executives of South Korean business organizations.
In response to this, Prime Minister Kishida emphasized, "The Parliamentary League is an important backbone that supports bilateral relations, and I believe that further activation of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries will deepen mutual understanding and broaden bilateral relations, and it is important to continue to make efforts to support exchanges at various levels."
Regarding the G7 Hiroshima Summit, which will begin next week, he stated, "I would like to use this as an opportunity for the G7 = seven major countries to continue severe sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine and to confirm their unwavering solidarity with Ukraine.
After completing a series of schedules, Prime Minister Kishida departed from the Republic of Korea on a government plane in the afternoon of August 7 and was on his way back to Japan.
Korea-Japan Parliamentary League "Evaluation of the Japan's stance toward improving Japan-ROK relations"
The chairman of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary League, which is made up of parliamentarians from South Korea's ruling and opposition parties, met with Prime Minister Kishida and spoke to the press.
Among them, Representative Chung Jin-seok of the ruling People's Power Party, who serves as chairman, said that Prime Minister Kishida's remarks regarding "requisition" during the Pacific War "left an impressive warm message" and expressed his appreciation for the Japan's stance toward improving Japan-ROK relations.
On the other hand, Yoon Ho-jung, a member of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea who serves as the secretary-general of the coalition, said that he "conveyed the concerns of the Korean people" about the plan to dilute the treated water accumulated at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to a substandard concentration and release it into the sea.
In addition, in relation to the agreement between the two countries that the ROK would dispatch an inspection team of experts to the ROK this month, he said, "I told them that they would like us to make efforts to provide an opportunity for verification, not just an inspection," and the difference in the positions of the ruling and opposition parties regarding the outcome of the Japan-ROK summit meeting became clear.