Tadashi Kimiya

Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo

Tadashi Kimiya is a professor at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo. His areas of expertise include South Korean politics and diplomacy. He is also the co-editor of Nikkan Kankeishi (History of Japan-Korea Relations 1965-2015: Politics (2015).

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during their bilateral meeting as part of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on 21 May 2023. (Hiro Komae/AFP)

South Korea's unwavering determination to improve Japan-South Korea relations

There have been recent signs of thaw in Japan-South Korea relations, not least with Japanese President Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol visiting the monument dedicated to the Koreans who died in the Hiroshima atomic bombing at the sidelines of the G7 summit. What are the larger motivations for the rapprochement and how will this affect the regional dynamics?