- Korea and Japan launch “Economic Cooperation 2.0” to expand ties beyond manufacturing.
- FKI and Keidanren vow stronger trade, hydrogen, and supply chain collaboration.
- Joint focus on WTO reform, cultural ventures, and trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
Korean and Japanese business executives have reached a consensus to initiate a new phase of “Korea–Japan Economic Cooperation 2.0,” broadening their collaboration beyond traditional manufacturing to encompass culture, content, and emerging industries as both countries celebrate the 60th anniversary of established diplomatic relations.
The Korea Federation of Industries (FKI) and the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) issued a joint statement at a bilateral business meeting in Tokyo's Keidanren Hall on Friday morning, committing to create an institutional framework to enhance economic ties between the Korea and Japan.
They also committed to bolstering cooperative efforts to address global trade issues and improve collaboration on energy and supply chain durability. Both parties showed interest in enhancing trilateral business discussions with the United States and expediting the free trade negotiations between Korea, China, and Japan.
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The importance of hydrogen collaboration was likewise reaffirmed. Both parties suggested collaborative demonstration on hydrogen projects charging and storage facilities, along with joint training programs for operators and engineers to guarantee safety.
They pointed out chances for co-creating cultural and content initiatives for worldwide streaming services, collaborative ventures to enter foreign markets, and one-source-multi-use (OSMU) approaches to enhance shared intellectual assets.
At the end of the meeting, FKI and Keidanren released a joint statement committing to maintain a rules-based free and open trade system, improve collaboration on global trade and supply chain resilience, bolster trilateral relations with the United States under the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) initiative, and intensify collective endeavors in hydrogen energy, carbon reduction, and addressing mutual social challenges such as low birthrates, aging populations, and climate change.