Sadayuki Sakakibara, head of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Japan's most influential business lobby, will meet South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul next Wednesday, the Japan-Korea Economic Association said Friday.
Mikio Sasaki, the association's head and an adviser to trading house Mitsubishi Corp., will also attend the meeting, the association said.
In December 2014, Sakakibara met with Park and asked her to arrange a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at an early date. Abe and Park have yet to hold a formal summit since the leaders took office in 2012 and 2013, respectively, due to territorial and history disputes.
At the meeting, Sakakibara and Park discussed how to deepen the economic relationship between the two countries on the 50th anniversary this year of the normalization of diplomatic ties.
Sakakibara is also scheduled to attend the opening session next Wednesday of the two-day Japan-South Korea business leaders' meeting in Seoul hosted by the association and other groups. The two countries take turns hosting the annual gathering.
Sakakibara will be the first Keidanren chief to attend the meeting in South Korea in 10 years.
This time, the participants will discuss how to promote bilateral economic and cultural exchanges and will adopt a joint statement Thursday, followed by a news conference by representatives from both sides, the association said.