Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Departs for the US to Attend the ROK-US-Japan Summit Meeting

"Historic Opportunity to Strengthen Strategic Cooperation"

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida departed through Tokyo Haneda Airport on the 17th to attend the South Korea-US-Japan summit meeting held at Camp David in the United States on the 18th.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to local Japanese media such as Kyodo News on the day, Prime Minister Kishida met with reporters just before departure and stated, "I believe this will be a historic opportunity to strengthen trilateral strategic cooperation based on unprecedentedly solid bilateral relations with the United States and South Korea."

Regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Kishida explained, "The specific timing and process have not yet been decided," but emphasized that the existing policy to start this summer remains unchanged. He added, "We are continuing to provide courteous explanations both domestically and internationally," and stressed, "The government as a whole will make a judgment after confirming safety assurance and damage response measures."

It is expected that Prime Minister Kishida will explain the safety of the contaminated water discharge plan during a separate meeting with the US president held on the occasion of the South Korea-US-Japan summit. The timing of the discharge is reported to be officially announced after Kishida meets with fishermen in late this month to seek their understanding.

Although the South Korea-US-Japan summit has previously been held in conjunction with international multilateral meetings, this is the first time it is being held independently. The leaders of South Korea, the US, and Japan will discuss ways to strengthen security cooperation in response to North Korea's nuclear program and China's hegemonism. It is also expected that they will reaffirm their stance against attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force.

Kyodo News reported, "The three countries have begun coordinating to explicitly state in a joint document that they will consult immediately in the event of an emergency," adding, "The purpose is to pursue close communication among the three countries beyond the framework of the US-Japan and South Korea-US alliances."

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