South Korea: President Lee to visit Japan for summit with PM Takaichi

The recent update informs that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will visit Japan on January 13 and January 14,2026 to attend an annual summit with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Lee's office said on Friday, January 9, 2026.

Lee and Takaichi will hold the summit in Nara City on January 13, followed by a dinner, where they are expected to discuss regional and global affairs as well as economic and social issues, the presidential office said in a statement.

As reported by Reuters, the pair will attend diplomatic events together and Lee will separately meet with South Korean residents in Japan, it said.

The summit aims to reinforce the goal of developing South Korea–Japan relations in a future-oriented, stable direction, Lee's office said.

Lee's security adviser Wi Sung-lac informed that both leaders will discuss regional issues such as the current dispute between China and Japan and the potential participation of North Korean athletes at the Asian Games scheduled for September in Japan.

Lee's office said the South Korean leader will hold a summit meeting and dinner with Takaichi in Nara on Tuesday, where the two will discuss "regional and global issues."

They will also explore ways to "strengthen practical cooperation across a wide range of areas directly affecting people's livelihoods, including the economy, society and culture," it added.

Lee office further informed that the "visit is expected to help cement a future-oriented and stable trajectory for South Korea-Japan relations" through an "early bilateral visit following Takaichi's inauguration."

Notably, this will be Lee's second visit to Japan since last August, when he met Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's former PM.

Lee and Takaichi, who both took office in 2025, last met in October on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.