South Korean President Visits Japan Before Meeting Trump

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung/PHOTO via Facebook

JAKARTA - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Japan on Saturday to attend a meeting that is expected to reaffirm security cooperation between the two neighboring East Asian countries before Lee meets US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.

In his first official visit to Japan since taking office in June, Lee will meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the prime minister's residence in Tokyo to discuss bilateral relations, including closer security cooperation with the United States based on a trilateral pact signed by their predecessors.

Lee's quick liberal victory after conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment for announcing martial law raised fears in Tokyo that relations with Seoul could worsen.

Reported by Reuters on Saturday, August 23, Lee criticized previous efforts to improve strained relations due to a prolonged grudge over Japanese colonialism on the Korean Peninsula in 19101945.

The South Korean government last week expressed "deep disappointment and regret" after Japanese officials visited a temple in Tokyo in memory of Japanese war victims who by many Koreans were seen as a symbol of Japanese aggression in times of war.

However, so far, Lee expressed his support for a closer relationship with Japan, including in his first meeting with Ishiba on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June.

Despite their differences, these two US allies rely heavily on Washington to counter China's growing regional influence.

Together, they host about 80,000 US troops, dozens of American warships, and hundreds of military aircraft.

In Washington, Lee and Trump are expected to discuss security issues including China, North Korea, and Seoul's financial contributions to US troops stationed in South Korea "something US leaders have repeatedly emphasized to improve."

Japan and South Korea also have similarities in trade, with both approving a 15% tariff on imports of their goods from the US after Trump threatened to impose higher import duties.