South Korea’s Lee to visit Japan next week to meet Premier Takaichi

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will visit Japan early next week to discuss ways to strengthen ties with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Lee's office said Friday, according to Yonhap News.

The two-day visit beginning next Tuesday for the summit in Nara prefecture, the hometown of Takaichi, is expected to cover a broad range of regional and global matters, along with economic, social and cultural issues, it said.

Lee will attend a friendship event with Takaichi next Wednesday and meet ethnic Koreans living in Japan, before returning home.

The visit will be Lee's second trip to Japan, following his August visit to Tokyo, where he held summit talks with Takaichi's predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.

Lee and Takaichi recently met Oct. 30 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea, and they had a brief meeting during a G20 leaders' meeting in South Africa in November.