Overview
- The leaders meet Tuesday in Nara in their third encounter in less than three months as part of agreed shuttle diplomacy.
- The talks come a week after Lee’s summit with China’s Xi Jinping, reflecting Seoul’s effort to balance ties with both neighbors.
- Agenda items include practical cooperation in technology and business, plus discussions on North Korea’s denuclearization and Japanese abductees.
- Analysts say Takaichi is likely to stress stable U.S.–Japan–South Korea coordination as Tokyo’s friction with Beijing grows following her Taiwan remarks in November.
- The visit features a stop at Horyu Temple and outreach to Korean residents, while both governments discuss potential DNA analysis of remains from a 1942 undersea mining accident.