Amid the Line Yahoo Incident... Japan's Kishida Meets New Ambassador to South Korea

Possibility of Discussing Current Issues Between Korea and Japan at the Korea-China-Japan Summit, Including the Line Yahoo Incident

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with the newly appointed and outgoing Ambassadors of Japan to the Republic of Korea, NHK reported on the 15th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prime Minister Kishida held a meeting for about 20 minutes around 4:30 PM the previous day with Ambassador Koichi Mizushima and Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi. Ambassador Mizushima is scheduled to assume his post in Korea on the 17th, while Ambassador Aiboshi is the outgoing envoy.

Although Japanese prime ministers usually meet frequently with ambassadors from major countries, this meeting attracted attention because it involved the ambassador to Korea just before his appointment. It is expected that they discussed issues between Korea and Japan, such as the upcoming Korea-China-Japan summit expected to be held at the end of this month and the recent Line Yahoo incident.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Ambassador Mizushima, who will assume his post on the 17th, is a career diplomat who previously served as Minister in charge at the Embassy of Japan in Korea. Since 2021, he has served as Ambassador to Israel. Ambassador Mizushima also expressed gratitude last year when the Korean government supported the repatriation of Japanese nationals while evacuating Koreans during the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Furthermore, with the appointment of the new Japanese ambassador, preparations for the Korea-China-Japan trilateral summit scheduled for the end of this month are expected to accelerate.