Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung will visit Tokyo, Japan, from the 12th to the 15th to discuss ways to cooperate on key pending issues between the two countries.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) said on the 11th that the Minister will meet local government officials and lawmakers in Japan to seek cooperation in areas such as public-sector artificial intelligence (AI) transition, regional revitalization, and disaster management.
The visit was promoted to flesh out forward-looking cooperation measures discussed at the Korea-Japan summit in January and to strengthen cooperation with the newly launched second Takaichi Cabinet.
First, the Minister will meet with Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. The meeting will discuss policy exchanges to address common social issues in both countries, such as responding to regional extinction, ways to invigorate the hometown donation program, and administrative integration among metropolitan cities and provinces.
He will then meet with Digital Minister Hisashi Matsumoto to share public-sector AI use cases for realizing an "AI democratic government." He also plans to propose signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a strategic cooperative relationship.
The Minister will also meet with Disaster Management Minister Jiro Akama. They will hear about Japan's earthquake response and recovery cases and discuss ways to strengthen mutual cooperation with the Disaster Management Agency of Japan, which is scheduled to be established in November this year.
The Minister will attend and deliver congratulatory remarks at the conferment ceremony of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit, Gwanghwa Medal, for former Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union Secretary-General Takeo Kawamura. The union is a parliamentary diplomacy group composed of lawmakers from Korea and Japan, and Kawamura served as secretary-general from 2013 to 2021.
The Order of Diplomatic Service Merit, Gwanghwa Medal, is one of the highest grades of diplomatic orders awarded to foreign figures who have contributed to promoting friendship with the Republic of Korea and expanding international cooperation.
The Minister will also hold a meeting with key lawmakers, including newly appointed Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union President Ryota Takeda, Vice President Ichiro Aisawa, and Secretary-General Akihisa Nagashima. They plan to exchange views on comprehensive exchanges and ways to promote cooperation encompassing the government and the parliament.
He will also visit a disaster safety education facility and sites showcasing best practices in the hometown tax program.
The Minister said, "This year marks the first year of a new 60 years as Korea-Japan relations move toward the future, and we will continue to pursue practical and results-driven cooperation going forward."