The case for a Japan-South Korea alliance

The relative stability of the post-Cold War era is gone. Radical new thinking is needed

Avatar
20250618 ISHIBA LEE2

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada on June 17. (Pool photo/Kyodo)

James D.J. Brown is professor of political science at Temple University, Japan Campus.

On June 3, Lee Jae Myung of South Korea's left-leaning Democratic Party was elected president in a landslide. Many in Tokyo viewed this with trepidation since Lee has previously shown hostility toward Japan. In 2016, while mayor of the city of Seongnam, Lee described Japan as an "enemy state." Lee was also critical of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol's enthusiastic cooperation with Japan, lambasting it as "humiliation and subservience."

Sponsored Content

About Sponsored ContentThis content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau.