Takaichi’s rise to power poses critical test for fragile South Korea-Japan ties



Analysis Takaichi’s rise to power poses critical test for fragile South Korea-Japan ties Conservative set to be Japan’s next leader risks clashing with Lee Jae-myung, as nationalism endangers cooperation John LeeOctober 6, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Libereal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi (Sept. 29, 2025), ROK President Lee Jae-myung (Sept. 10, 2025) \| Image: Sanae Takaichi via Twitter, ROK Presidential Office, edited by Korea Pro Sanae Takaichi’s election as leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has set her up to become the next prime minister and introduced the most serious risk to Seoul-Tokyo relations in years, arriving just as both countries had settled into a rare phase of pragmatic cooperation. Her nationalist background creates uncertainty about whether Japan will maintain the stable trajectory established under Shigeru Ishiba and Fumio Kishida. For South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung, whose centrist government has pursued investment-friendly deregulation while enforcing stricter labor protections, this uncertainty will require restraint. The next stage of ROK-Japan relations will depend on © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01Lee Jae Myung’s ‘pacemaker’ strategy tests South Korea’s leverage with Trump 02Trump’s Korea investment victory lap masks safeguards Seoul still controls 03North Korean POW dispute tests Seoul-Kyiv trust and future Ukraine policy 04South Korea’s CPTPP push exposes the cost of turning trade gains into consensus 05AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline 06South Korea’s Mexico strategy runs into the hard limits of USMCA politics 07Preschool test ban forces South Korea’s English hagwons to rethink placement 08Lee Jae Myung’s Wall Street pitch tests South Korea’s capital market credibility

Analysis

Takaichi’s rise to power poses critical test for fragile South Korea-Japan ties

Conservative set to be Japan’s next leader risks clashing with Lee Jae-myung, as nationalism endangers cooperation

John LeeOctober 6, 2025

Takaichi’s rise to power poses critical test for fragile South Korea-Japan ties

Libereal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi (Sept. 29, 2025), ROK President Lee Jae-myung (Sept. 10, 2025) | Image: Sanae Takaichi via Twitter, ROK Presidential Office, edited by Korea Pro

Sanae Takaichi’s election as leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has set her up to become the next prime minister and introduced the most serious risk to Seoul-Tokyo relations in years, arriving just as both countries had settled into a rare phase of pragmatic cooperation.

Her nationalist background creates uncertainty about whether Japan will maintain the stable trajectory established under Shigeru Ishiba and Fumio Kishida.

For South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung, whose centrist government has pursued investment-friendly deregulation while enforcing stricter labor protections, this uncertainty will require restraint.

The next stage of ROK-Japan relations will depend on

Takaichi’s rise to power poses critical test for fragile South Korea-Japan ties

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John Lee