▲ Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Mizushima speaks during a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club in Seoul on March 27, 2026. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Japan-diplomacy

Shifting global landscape makes closer cooperation with S. Korea essential: top Japan envoy

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, March 27 (Yonhap) -- The volatile international landscape, compounded by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, is bringing South Korea and Japan closer together, making their bilateral cooperation increasingly essential, Japan's top envoy to Seoul said Friday.

Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Mizushima made the remarks at a forum hosted by a senior journalists' club, pointing to shifts in the global environment, including Russia's war in Ukraine and its deepening ties with North Korea, as a key factor affecting the Seoul-Tokyo relations.

"The landscape has become increasingly volatile," Mizushima told a forum through an interpreter. "In that context, I believe it's fair to say that the international environment is evolving in ways that make cooperation between Japan and South Korea necessary as two like-minded countries."

Mizushima, who previously served as ambassador to Israel, noted the need for coordination between the United States and other major countries to quickly defuse tension in the Middle East.

"This is extremely important for the international community, as well as for Japan and Korea that rely on the region for the bulk of their oil imports, to work together to stabilize the Middle East," he said.

On a bilateral level, Mizushima suggested that Seoul and Tokyo continue to focus on areas of immediate cooperation where progress has been noted, such as the recent surge in tourism and people-to-people exchanges underpinned by the significant warming of their ties.

By building on this existing momentum, the two neighbors can further expand their partnership into a broader range of areas, like security and the economy, Mizushima said.

Asked about South Korea's potential joining of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Mizushima said Japan will address it adequately when Seoul formally states its intent to join.

"If South Korea formally expresses its intent to participate, we intend to respond accordingly," he said.

CPTPP is a Japan-led multilateral trade pact involving Britain, Australia and Southeast Asian and Latin American nations, representing about 15 percent of the global economy.

South Korea is weighing CPTPP accession but has yet to reach a final decision as joining the pact would likely require Seoul to lift its import ban on Japanese seafood and open its agriculture market, a highly contentious issue in Korea.

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