Business executives from Japan and South Korea promised to collaborate more closely on electronics and technology, as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Tokyo for the first time in 12 years. Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a commitment to rebuild their relationship and ate an omelette delicacy called “omurice” over rice. Japan has announced a funding project to help pay for programmes that benefit South Korea without forcing corporate Japan to backtrack on its 1965 treaty.
The United States is concerned about the tension between the neighbors and U.S. allies. Washington has worked to improve commercial diplomacy with both countries, focusing on areas such as chips. Japan and South Korea have agreed to finance a “future oriented” fund of 200 million yen ($1.5 million) for research into securing rare resources, tackling supply chain challenges and youth exchanges. However, it is unclear if those efforts will be able to escape the pull of history, given the backlash in South Korea due to Japan’s 1910-1945 colonisation of the Korean peninsula.
