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TOKYO/SEOUL -Business leaders from Japan and South Korea pledged to work more closely on chips and technology on Friday, seeking to put behind years of acrimony over wartime history that have stoked South Korean public anger.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with executives from both countries in Tokyo as he makes the first visit there by a South Korean president in 12 years. On Thursday Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised a reset in relations and dined on “omurice” – omelets served over rice.
The strain between the two neighbors and U.S. allies had been a deepening concern for the United States, which wants to present a united front against China’s rising power and threats from North Korea’s expanding missile program.
Washington has worked to improve commercial diplomacy with both countries, focusing on areas such as chips, where South Korea and Japan are critical players, in an attempt to blunt China’s growing technological might.
There is “a lot of room for cooperation” between Japan and South Korea in semiconductors, batteries and electric vehicles, Yoon said at Friday’s meeting.
South Korea and Japan to drop trade dispute as security concerns trump history
“Both governments will do everything to create opportunities to interact and do business with each other,” he said.
