Japan, South Korea biz leaders agree on importance of exchanges

November 15, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese and South Korean business leaders Friday agreed on the importance of continuing private-sector exchanges between the two countries no matter how political and diplomatic situations change.

The two sides adopted a joint statement confirming their shared view at a meeting in Tokyo, attended by about 20 businesspeople and held by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, and the Federation of Korean Industries.

Participants discussed from a private-sector viewpoint what more should be done for bilateral economic and industrial cooperation, at a time when the two countries' relations have slumped mainly due to the issue of wartime labor and Japan's stricter export controls on semiconductor materials.

"The Japanese and South Korean economies, embedded in one supply chain, are partners that are mutually essential," Keidanren Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi said at the outset of the meeting.

"It's important for the Japanese and South Korean business worlds to continue dialogue in any environment," he said, also expressing eagerness to strengthen cooperation in new growth fields including artificial intelligence and internet of things, or IoT.

The South Korean federation's chairman, Huh Chang-soo, said the two countries should spearhead efforts to protect the value of the free and democratic market economy amid increasing threats to the international trade order from protectionism.

Huh also mentioned the idea of increasing the number of flights between the two countries during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to promote exchanges among citizens. Jiji Press