Japan and South Korea deepen ties as energy crisis escalates

{"text":[[{"start":10.1,"text":"Japan and South Korea have agreed to deepen energy co-operation in response to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, pledging to share oil reserves and supplies of refined petroleum products including jet fuel, in the latest sign of warming ties between Tokyo and Seoul."}],[{"start":24.9,"text":"The plan, which was jointly announced by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday, covers joint oil-reserve storage and liquefied natural gas swap arrangements to strengthen supply-chain resilience."}],[{"start":41.15,"text":"Both countries are highly dependent on imported energy: Japan is the world’s second-largest LNG importer, and South Korea the third. "}],[{"start":48.949999999999996,"text":"The two leaders “agreed that close bilateral co-operation is needed more than ever amid the instability in supply chains and energy markets arising from the recent situation in the Middle East”, Lee said in a statement."}],[{"start":61.75,"text":"He added that Takaichi, who is visiting South Korea, also proposed that the two sides “deepen co-operation on resource supply chains with other Asian nations facing supply disruptions”."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":73.15,"text":"Relations between Japan and South Korea, which have long been marred by the legacy of Japanese colonisation between 1910 and 1945, have markedly improved in recent years in response to rising geopolitical uncertainty, China’s increasing assertiveness and now the global energy shock."}],[{"start":90.95,"text":"Takaichi’s visit to South Korea followed a jarring U-turn on Monday when the Japanese PM called for a supplementary budget to cover the cost of energy subsidies despite insisting for weeks that such a move was not necessary."}],[{"start":105.9,"text":"“Both countries feel a sense of economic crisis with the Iran war dragging on,” said Bong Young-shik, a research fellow at Yonsei University Institute for North Korean Studies. "}],[{"start":117.10000000000001,"text":"Takaichi also told reporters that she and Lee agreed to boost three-way co-operation on security with the US. Japan and South Korea host significant US military deployments and have been scrutinising President Donald Trump’s comments for signals that those forces might be reduced."}],[{"start":134.20000000000002,"text":"The warmth between Takaichi and Lee — who have met four times since both leaders came to office last year — has surprised observers."}],[{"start":141.65,"text":"Takaichi is known as a hardline nationalist, while Lee, seen as a leftwing Japan sceptic, could have gone together “like oil and water”, said Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies."}],[{"start":155.25,"text":"But both leaders — who enjoy approval ratings above 60 per cent — have proven pragmatic."}],[{"start":160.65,"text":"“Given the external threats from China, Russia and North Korea and an unpredictable United States . . . they don’t have anyone else to look to in the neighbourhood,” Cha said."}],[{"start":172.4,"text":"The thaw in Japan-South Korea relations began in 2023 under the now-jailed former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, who resumed high-level security co-operation, settled a dispute over export controls and strengthened trilateral co-ordination with the US."}],[{"start":191.5,"text":"Korean public attitudes have also shifted, helping create political space for a détente. Public opinion surveys now consistently identify China, rather than Japan, as Seoul’s most problematic neighbour."}],[{"start":203.85,"text":"Mutual tourism is rising, with 11.2mn air passengers travelling between the two countries in 2025, up from 9.4mn in 2019."}],[{"start":213.65,"text":"There are more thorny issues in the relationship, including the threats of Chinese action against Taiwan and nuclear-armed North Korea. Takaichi’s comments last year that Japan could be drawn into military involvement in a hypothetical war over Taiwan have sparked a diplomatic dispute with Beijing that shows no sign of abating after six months."}],[{"start":234.45000000000002,"text":"Lee hosted Takaichi in his hometown of Andong, where they dined on the local chicken speciality jjimdak and sake from Takaichi’s native Nara, which the South Korean president visited in January."}],[{"start":246.9,"text":"“They are calling it shuttle diplomacy but it looks more like ‘hometown’ diplomacy after these visits,” said David Boling, principal at The Asia Group. “There was a concern that this relationship could have gone in an opposite direction with these two leaders, but they have surprised a lot of people.”"}],[{"start":262.55,"text":"Additional reporting by Song Jung-a and Kang Buseong in Seoul"}],[{"start":275.15,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779196525_3591.mp3"}