President Lee Jae-myung hosted former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a luncheon at the Blue House on Thursday. During the meeting, the two leaders acknowledged the significance of restoring Korea-Japan shuttle diplomacy and expressed mutual gratitude.
President Lee greeted Ishiba with a smile as the luncheon began at Inwang Hall in the Blue House main building. "Welcome to Korea," Lee said to the former prime minister seated beside him. Ishiba responded, "Thank you."
"I am grateful that Korea-Japan relations stabilized considerably during your tenure as prime minister, and bilateral cooperation has continued to go very well since then," Lee said. He added, "You have shown broad perspective and played a significant role in international affairs. I hope you will continue to play an important role in this complex international environment."
Ishiba responded, "Although my term was short at one year, developing Japan-Korea relations was what I valued most in the context of diplomacy. I sincerely thank you for arranging this occasion."
"There are many bilateral relationships in the world, but I wanted to make the relationship between Japan and Korea the finest in the world, and I still do," Ishiba said.
"President Lee is very popular in Japan," Ishiba added. "I am pleased to see reports that you are maintaining an excellent relationship with my successor, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi."
President Lee and former Prime Minister Ishiba first met at the Group of Seven summit in June last year, shortly after Lee's inauguration. They subsequently held summits in Tokyo and Busan before Ishiba stepped down in October, successfully restoring shuttle diplomacy between the two nations.