Leaders of Japan and S Korea meet

JAPANESE Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung for talks yesterday aimed at demonstrating their cordial ties as Beijing pressures Tokyo over its stance on Taiwan.

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The two leaders are in Takaichi’s picturesque home region of Nara in western Japan, days after Lee visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Looming in the background is Japan’s heated diplomatic spat with China, triggered by Takaichi’s suggestion in November that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacks Taiwan.

China, which regards Taiwan as its own territory, reacted angrily, blocking exports to Japan of “dual-use” items with potential military applications, fuelling worries in Japan that Beijing could choke supplies of much-needed rare earths.

“In this increasingly complex situation and within this rapidly changing international order, we must continue to make progress toward a better future,’ Lee said at the beginning of the meeting with Takaichi.

“Therefore, cooperation between our two countries is more important than ever”.