The Japanese and South Korean governments are working on arranging a two-day trip for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the city of Busan from around Sept. 30, diplomatic sources have said.
In the envisaged trip, Ishiba is expected to hold talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, according to the sources.
It will be Ishiba's first visit to South Korea since he took office in October 2024, and his last overseas trip before his upcoming resignation.
Ishiba, also president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, recently announced his decision to quit, and the LDP is set to hold an election to pick a new party chief on Oct. 4.
At their meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 23, Lee told Ishiba that he hopes to hold his next meeting with the Japanese leader in a regional area in South Korea. They agreed that the two governments will launch discussions to address social issues including aging populations and regional revitalization.
With Japan and South Korea sharing challenges such as overconcentration in metropolitan areas and declining populations in regional areas, Ishiba and Lee will likely aim to bolster the two nations' cooperation to resolve such problems at their upcoming meeting.
"We aim to further establish 'shuttle diplomacy'" between Japan and South Korea, or mutual visits by their leaders to each other's country, a Japanese government official said about Ishiba's envisioned visit to Busan.
Ishiba hopes to ensure smooth transition of Japan-South Korea relations, which have been improving, to the next administration, sources said.
Before the Busan trip, Ishiba is set to visit New York to attend the ongoing U.N. General Assembly session.
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