Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi attends a budget committee meeting during an extraordinary session at the Lower House of the Diet on August 4 in Tokyo. (Getty Images)
Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi attends a budget committee meeting during an extraordinary session at the Lower House of the Diet on August 4 in Tokyo. (Getty Images)

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will meet Japanese Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi in Seoul on Monday, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Friday.

Koizumi, a potential contender to become the next leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party amid domestic political turbulence following the party's recent election debacle, will embark on his three-day trip to South Korea on Saturday.

Koizumi will participate in the APEC Food Security Ministerial Meeting, hosted by South Korea and scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Incheon. He will also attend a trilateral meeting of agricultural ministers from South Korea, Japan and China on Monday.

“Our government has been seeking various high-level exchanges to forge a more solid and mature relationship between Korea and Japan, and this meeting is part of those efforts,” a Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said on condition of anonymity when asked about the background of Cho’s meeting with Koizumi.

Cho’s separate meeting with Koizumi is widely seen as rare and commanding attention, given the ongoing Japanese political turmoil and his rise as a contender for the next LDP leader.

The LDP-led coalition’s loss of its upper house majority in a historic defeat in the July 20 election has left the fate of Prime Minister and LDP leader Shigeru Ishiba hanging in the balance.

A recent public opinion poll conducted by Japan News Network from Aug. 2 to 3 among 2,531 people nationwide aged 18 or older found that Koizumi was favored when asked who would be the most suitable next prime minister should Ishiba stand down.

Koizumi topped the poll with 20.4 percent of respondents choosing him, followed by former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi with 16.7 percent.

Koizumi’s prospects as a political leader were widely deemed over after he finished third in the LDP’s leadership race in September. However, Koizumi has recently reclaimed the political spotlight after being inaugurated as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in May.

Koizumi has been acclaimed for bringing down rice prices in his current capacity amid rising household burdens, with his leadership viewed as being in a manner evocative of his father, popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.


dagyumji@heraldcorp.com