G7 Opportunity for Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting... Discussion on 'Fukushima Inspection Team'?

First Meeting Since March This Year

South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers will hold a separate meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Hiroshima, Japan. They are expected to review follow-up measures from the previously held South Korea-Japan summit and discuss the inspection team visiting Japan to monitor the Fukushima contaminated water treatment process.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 19th, Park Jin, the South Korean Foreign Minister accompanying President Yoon Suk-yeol to the G7 summit, is scheduled to hold a South Korea-Japan foreign ministers' meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa in downtown Hiroshima on the afternoon of the 20th.

Foreign Minister Park Jin (right) and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi
[Photo by Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

This will be the first meeting between Minister Park and Foreign Minister Hayashi since mid-March this year. At that time, Minister Park had an unofficial meeting with Foreign Minister Hayashi while visiting Tokyo as part of President Yoon’s first trip to Japan. When Prime Minister Kishida Fumio made a reciprocal visit to Seoul on the 7th and 8th, Foreign Minister Hayashi did not accompany him, so a face-to-face meeting between the foreign ministers did not take place.

During this meeting, the South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers are expected to review follow-up measures from the South Korea-Japan summit and discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various fields ahead of the South Korea-Japan summit scheduled to be held again on the 21st.

In particular, since a South Korean inspection team will visit Japan from the 21st to the 26th to monitor the Fukushima contaminated water treatment process as agreed upon by the South Korean and Japanese leaders, there is speculation that additional discussions may take place to ensure the smooth visit of the inspection team. The inspection team, consisting of 21 safety regulation experts, plans to directly verify Japan’s contaminated water purification capabilities, the overall operation of discharge facilities, and the capacity for radioactive material analysis.