"Republic of Korea (ROK) President Lee Jae-myung urged harmony in Beijing-Seoul-Tokyo relations at a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday in Nara. “I emphasised the need for South Korea, China, and Japan to find common ground to the greatest extent possible and to communicate and cooperate in the eastern region,” he stated. He added that Tokyo pledged its commitment to efforts on ‘denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula’. Meanwhile, the Japanese Prime Minister stressed the growing importance of security cooperation between the two countries within the Japan-ROK and Japan-ROK-US frameworks. "As the strategic environment surrounding our two countries becomes increasingly severe, Japan-ROK relations and Japan-ROK-US cooperation are becoming ever more important,” she said. The leaders convened at the Nara Prefectural Convention Centre, reaffirming their commitment to continuing reciprocal ‘shuttle diplomacy’ and strengthening security, economic ties, and critical supply chains - a vital priority amid global instability. Lee arrived in Japan on Tuesday on a two-day official visit. It follows Lee's trip to Beijing last week to meet with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping. During the meeting, Xi reportedly called his South Korean counterpart to uphold the ‘right strategic decisions’. Lee acknowledged the symbolic significance of the 60th anniversary of the normalisation of bilateral relations between both nations, stating, "Although there was a time in the past when we had painful experiences, 60 years have passed since the normalisation of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan, and we have now reached our 60th birthday. As the Prime Minister said, we are holding this meeting today in order to usher in a new 60 years, and I believe that this also has a special significance.” Relations have been rocky between China and Japan in recent months, following comments in November by Prime Minister Takaichi suggesting Japan could take military action if China were to attack Taiwan. "