Issue Korea-Japan relations enter a new era amid US pressure and deep economic interdependence

Summary

The report describes 2025 as the year Korea-Japan relations entered a new dimension, with sixty years of normalization marking a moment to reflect on the past and explore the next six decades. Under Trump 2.0, however, both countries face fierce tariff pressure and demands for alliance burden-sharing that leave them little capacity to work on a long-term vision for the relationship. At the same time their economies are so tightly intertwined that they are hard to separate, which makes them an ideal pair for mutually beneficial cooperation. Facing a protectionist tariff storm from Washington, they also share an interest in defending openness and the free trade system. The report therefore argues that a vision for future generations should no longer be about improving bilateral ties but about proposing and pursuing mutual cooperation tasks for the well-being, prosperity and welfare of those generations.