Japan’s leader makes farewell visit to South Korea to strengthen his legacy of warming ties

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Less than a month before leaving office, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is visiting South Korea on Friday to boost warming ties between the traditional Asian rivals, as challenges lie ahead for their cooperation after his departure.

Kishida’s two-day trip was arranged after he “actively” expressed hope for a meeting with conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to end his term on a high note in bilateral relations, according to Yoon’s office. It said Yoon and Kishida will look back on their achievements in bilateral ties and discuss further cooperation during a meeting Friday, the 12th between the two leaders.

This shows what legacy Kishida wants to leave after three years in office, experts say. He is credited with boosting Japan’s security and diplomatic partnerships with the U.S., South Korea and others but suffered low popularity at home due to his governing party’s political scandals.

“Prime Minister Kishida has put his personal political capital on the line to improve relations with South Korea. With President Yoon, Kishida upgraded bilateral diplomatic and security cooperation and elevated trilateralism with the United States” at a summit at Camp David in the United States last year, said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

“This farewell summit in Seoul is meant to solidify that legacy,” he said.

Japan and South Korea are both key U.S. allies in Asia, together hosting about 80,000 American troops. Their cooperation is crucial for U.S. efforts to buttress its regional alliances in response to increasing Chinese influence and North Korea’s growing nuclear threat. But ties between Japan and South Korea have suffered