Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will host South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in her hometown of Nara on Tuesday, aiming to strengthen ties between the two neighbours as Japan’s relations with China continue to deteriorate.

The meeting comes amid heightened regional tensions. Lee’s visit follows his trip to China last week, where President Xi Jinping sought closer ties with Seoul amid strained Japan-China relations after Takaichi warned in November that a possible Chinese military move against Taiwan could justify Japanese intervention.

The Nara meeting will mark the leaders’ first full summit and their third encounter in less than three months since Takaichi took office, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry. Talks are expected to focus on trade, China’s growing influence and North Korea’s security threat, as well as how both countries should navigate US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable diplomacy and Washington’s pressure to increase defence spending.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said strengthening Japan–South Korea ties and trilateral cooperation with the United States was more important than ever given the current strategic environment.

Takaichi and Lee are also scheduled to visit Horyu Temple, one of the world’s oldest surviving wooden structures, highlighting Japan’s early cultural links with the Korean Peninsula. Lee will later meet South Korean residents in Japan.

Although Japan and South Korea share ancient cultural and political ties, relations have long been strained by disputes rooted in Japan’s colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945. Issues such as forced labour and wartime sexual slavery have repeatedly disrupted ties, despite a 1965 treaty meant to settle compensation claims.

Relations have improved in recent years, driven largely by shared concerns over China’s assertiveness. While historical disputes are expected to be avoided at the summit, media reports say the leaders may discuss humanitarian cooperation to recover remains of Korean forced labourers killed in a 1942 mining accident in western Japan.