[Initial Report] Yoon and Ishiba's First Summit with Japanese Prime Minister, Strategic Diplomacy Urgently Needed

Significant Change in Korea's Status in Japan
Japanese Prime Minister's "National Interest is Important" Remarks Highlighted
Pragmatic Approach Needed Through Thorough Calculations

The K-pop corner located on the 5th floor of Tokyo Tower Records Shibuya is bustling with people.

"Mom, our country's idol groups are all lined up. Do people in Japan like K-pop this much too?"

On the 5th floor of the Tower Records building located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, visited during the first week of October with a long weekend, a daughter visiting for the first time asked with an excited voice. Seeing the albums of Korean singers occupying an entire floor in the largest record store located in the unfamiliar Japanese capital, the elementary school child confirmed the popularity of K-pop with her own eyes and happily looked around here and there. It is a scene reminiscent of J-pop dominating Korean record stores during the reporter's school days.

The child's exclamation did not stop there. In the large shopping mall visited for a meal, Korean restaurants selling K-food could be easily found everywhere. At night, foreigners gathered on the lawn of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It was to watch video art utilizing the building. The observation deck on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building offers free night views, which feels like a great service to tourists. A noticeable change in recent years is that detailed Korean language guides are provided not only at major tourist spots but also in hotels, subways, and restaurants. The reporter, who had a difficult experience with Japanese signs during a backpacking trip in college, felt a strong sense of change. With just a smartphone equipped with a translator, enjoying a trip to Japan as if it were domestic travel is no problem.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building where video art is being presented

Japan's special consideration for Korean tourists is because Koreans are the largest group of foreign visitors to Japan. Due to the super-weak yen, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan exceeded 25 million for the first time in four years since the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Among them, Korean tourists accounted for more than a quarter of the total, reaching 6.96 million. Providing friendly service to the largest number of guests is a natural response.

The pockets of the people have also become fuller than before. Last year, South Korea's per capita Gross National Income (GNI) was $36,194, surpassing Japan's $35,793 for the first time. Due to the long-term recession, Japan's national income, which once exceeded $50,000, has fallen to the mid-$30,000 range, but South Korea's per capita income, which was in the $10,000 range, has tripled.

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration, reaching its halfway point, cites the improvement of Korea-Japan relations as one of its greatest achievements. President Yoon Suk-yeol, currently on a tour of three Southeast Asian countries, will hold his first summit meeting with Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit held in Laos, the last country on the tour, on the 10th. As this is the first meeting since the change of power in Japan, the two leaders are expected to review the improved Korea-Japan relations over the past two years and exchange views on the direction of Korea-Japan relations for next year, which marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Although relief was felt as moderate Ishiba took over the baton, attention should be paid to the fact that at his inaugural press conference he mentioned, "It is important to build trust and strengthen friendship, but it is also important how each side seriously discusses based on national interests and achieves results." Along with the more active visits of Koreans to Japan than ever before, precise and strategic diplomacy pursuing practical benefits through thorough calculations of what Korea's true national interests are is urgently needed.