Japanese and South Korean lawmakers held a joint plenary meeting in Seoul on Sunday as part of a nonpartisan effort to build bilateral friendship.
The lawmakers held discussions on diplomacy, security, the economy and culture.
In a congratulatory message, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that South Korea is an important neighboring country that Japan should cooperate with to address various problems faced by the international community.
Japan-South Korea relations and both countries' cooperation with the U.S. grow increasingly important in the current strategic environment, she added.
Participants in the joint meeting included Akihisa Nagashima, a leader of the Japanese delegation, and Joo Ho-young, the head of the South Korean group of lawmakers. They hope to support the two countries' efforts to strengthen future-oriented cooperative relations, sources said.
The meeting is the first of its kind since a conference between lawmakers in Tokyo in September 2023.
A meeting was scheduled for December of last year, but it was canceled due to the confusion caused by then-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of emergency martial law.
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