In Japan, relief as South Korea votes in Yoon Suk-yeol as president
- Yoon’s conservative leanings mean he has common ground with Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida and the LDP; analysts say relationship reset may follow
- Disputes over history remain a stumbling block although there is a convergence in positions on North Korea and China
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was quick to congratulate Yoon Suk-yeol for his victory in Wednesday’s presidential election in South Korea, while analysts say Tokyo will have breathed a sigh of relief at the conservative opposition candidate’s victory.
Speaking just hours after Yoon was declared the winner in a nail-bitingly close fight with ruling Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, Kishida said: “I offer my heartfelt congratulations on his election.
“Especially now, as the international community faces major changes, healthy Japan-South Korea relations are … indispensable,” he said, adding that the present “fraught” bilateral relationship needs to improve.
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Who is South Korea’s newly elected president Yoon Suk-yeol and what are his plans?
Yoon, who is scheduled to take office in May, has already indicated that he is keen to improve ties with Tokyo and proposed in the run-up to the election a return to shuttle-diplomacy between the two capitals for regular discussions on bilateral and wider regional issues.
Bilateral disputes over history and territory have dogged ties since South Korea won independence from Japan after its defeat in World War II in 1945, but previous administrations in Seoul were better able to keep flashpoints out of trade and security dealings.