Just Two Days After Returning from the Korea-Japan Summit
Taro Aso Visits Korea for Forum, Meets President Lee at the Blue House
President Lee Expected to Broaden Dialogue Channels to Japan's Ruling Party
Aso's Role in Korea-Japan Relations Is Twofold... Also Known for Controversial Remarks
On the afternoon of January 16, President Lee Jaemyung will meet with Taro Aso, Deputy President of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and former Prime Minister, at the Blue House. Taro Aso is regarded as the politician who contributed most significantly to the rise of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and as a senior statesman holding a position equivalent to the “number two” in the Liberal Democratic Party. He is considered someone who can influence inter-party and elder statesmen channels between Korea and Japan, separate from official government diplomacy. As this meeting comes immediately after the Korea-Japan summit held in Nara Prefecture, Japan, on January 13-14, it is seen as a follow-up diplomatic engagement with Japan.
According to the Blue House, Deputy President Aso is visiting Korea to attend a forum hosted in Seoul by the Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI), a conservative elder statesmen think tank in Japan. On this occasion, he will meet with President Lee. Last November, he attempted to arrange a meeting with President Lee during his visit to Jeju Island for the joint general meeting of the Korea-Japan and Japan-Korea Cooperation Committees, but the meeting did not take place.
The Deputy President of the Liberal Democratic Party is the highest-ranking position assisting the party president and is traditionally held by a senior statesman, making it both a symbolic and influential role in Japanese politics. In this meeting, Taro Aso plans to support the development of Korea-Japan relations by building trust in various areas such as the economy, security, culture, and historical issues, while also fostering deeper and more multi-layered trust between the two countries.
Taro Aso's role in Korea-Japan relations has been twofold. During the heightened tensions in 2019 over forced labor and historical disputes, he made his presence felt through hardline remarks, openly mentioning the possibility of retaliatory measures such as tariffs, remittance suspensions, and visa issuance bans against Korea. At the same time, he has served as a “bridge” in private diplomatic channels, leading dialogue between senior political and business figures from both countries as the chair of the Korea-Japan and Japan-Korea Cooperation Committees.
Through this meeting, President Lee is expected to broaden the scope of managing difficult issues beyond the summit level to include Japan's ruling party, creating an opportunity to address matters that are hard to resolve through summit talks alone. In their recent summit, President Lee and Prime Minister Takaichi agreed to jointly pursue DNA analysis to identify the remains recovered from the Josei coal mine, opening the door to addressing sensitive historical issues.
In particular, since Taro Aso played a key role in the launch of the Takaichi administration, his support for improving Korea-Japan relations could accelerate working-level discussions on sensitive issues. Matters such as Korea's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), regulations on Japanese seafood imports, and cooperation on North Korea, all discussed at the summit, involve complex interests and require practical consultations and momentum. The meeting with Deputy President Aso is therefore seen as potentially providing political backing for subsequent coordination.
However, as a conservative “elder power broker,” Taro Aso has previously made controversial remarks with an eye on Japanese public opinion, so there is a cautious view that this meeting should be seen as separate from the summit-level discussions. In 2023, he sparked controversy by telling Japanese lawmakers about a conversation with former President Yoon Sukyeol, stating, “Most Korean presidents are either assassinated or arrested after completing their five-year term.”
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