Japan Likely to Send Foreign Minister Instead of Prime Minister to Yoon Inauguration Ceremony

Hayashi Yoshimasa, Japanese Foreign Minister
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Instead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on the 10th of next month.

Kyodo News reported on the 2nd that the Japanese government is coordinating to dispatch Foreign Minister Hayashi to President-elect Yoon's inauguration ceremony. A Japanese government official stated, "We have decided not to send the Prime Minister without guarantees of resolving historical issues."

During his visit to Korea, Foreign Minister Hayashi plans to meet key figures of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to confirm the policy of aiming to restore Korea-Japan relations. Additionally, he intends to seek an opportunity to meet with President-elect Yoon (or the President).

The Korea-Japan policy consultation delegation dispatched by President-elect Yoon did not directly request Prime Minister Kishida to attend the inauguration ceremony during their meeting on the 26th of last month. Since the attendance of a head of state at an inauguration ceremony is a matter decided by the government according to precedent, they will wait for Japan's position.

A Japanese government official told Sankei Shimbun, "If Prime Minister Kishida attends and then the Korean side changes its stance, there is concern that criticism of the Prime Minister will intensify domestically."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.