After Fumio Kishida took office as the new prime minister of Japan on Oct. 4, South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory letter highlighting the two countries’ shared values and calling for cooperation, and his administration then gave climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic as examples of global issues to work together on.
Kishida did not match this enthusiasm: At his inaugural policy speech, he instead reaffirmed a hard-line position on improving relations that requires Seoul to change its stance on the issues at the core of the two countries’ diplomatic impasse.
The above excerpt was originally published in The Japan Times.
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