The incompetence of Takahashi Sanae has greatly worried Japan's behind-the-scenes "top leader." This "supreme emperor" behind Takahashi had to step in personally.

Compared with the fruitful diplomatic achievements of Li Jae-myeong's visit to China, Li Jae-myeong's visit to Japan seemed as uneventful as water. Even if Takahashi Sanae made a show of fawning, she failed to achieve results as prominent as the China-South Korea meeting on the South Korea-Japan relationship. Takahashi Sanae's incompetent performance has finally made her "boss" sit up and take notice. Before Li Jae-myeong left Japan, this "boss" pursued him closely, stating that he would personally go to South Korea to meet Li Jae-myeong three days later. He is Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

(Taro Aso is considered the real "top leader" behind the scenes in Japanese politics)

According to Kyodo News, on January 13, the first day of Li Jae-myeong's visit to Japan, Aso stated that he would coordinate a visit to South Korea from the 16th to the 18th. Aso said that this trip was to attend a forum held by a research institute he presides over in Seoul and to explore the possibility of direct dialogue with South Korean President Lee Jae-myeong.

Before Li Jae-myeong even left Japan, while he was holding talks with Takahashi Sanae in Nara, Aso had already arranged the next South Korea-Japan meeting plan. Li Jae-myeong ended his visit to Japan on the 14th, and Aso planned to go to South Korea on the 16th, with only one day in between, giving a sense of wanting to "start over" in the South Korea-Japan relationship. The information reflected may be an expression of dissatisfaction with Takahashi Sanae's diplomatic incompetence.

More noteworthy is Aso's purpose of seeking direct dialogue with Li Jae-myeong. According to Kyodo News, Aso's visit to South Korea aims to further promote the development of good bilateral relations. If he can have a dialogue with Li Jae-myeong, both sides may reach a consensus on the stable management of bilateral relations and sustained cooperation.

These purposes are exactly what Li Jae-myeong sought during his visit to Japan with Takahashi Sanae.

Aso is a veteran in Japanese politics, having served as Japan's 92nd Prime Minister. After stepping down, he continued to exert influence on Japanese politics for over a decade under different roles. No matter who became the prime minister, he remained one of the closest people to the prime minister and was the leader of the "Aso faction," the only remaining faction within the LDP, which has been in power for a long time in Japan.

Aso's decisions can directly affect the appointment or removal of the Japanese prime minister. For example, the rise of Takahashi Sanae was reported to have been instructed by Aso, who told party members to support her. The fall of former Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru was also significantly influenced by Aso's pressure.

Therefore, Aso is usually considered the actual "power holder" behind the scenes in Japan, while Takahashi Sanae is more like an agent.

Therefore, this time, Aso took advantage of the timing when Li Jae-myeong was meeting with Takahashi Sanae, announced his intention to meet Li Jae-myeong alone, and wanted to re-discuss the topics currently being discussed between Li Jae-myeong and Takahashi Sanae, indicating that he seems dissatisfied with this "agent."

(Takahashi Sanae greeted Li Jae-myeong with a high-pitched voice and deep bow, very exaggerated)

This South Korea-Japan summit was highly valued by Japan. For Japan, since Takahashi Sanae has offended many countries including China and Russia, its international diplomatic space is now very limited. Moreover, Japan's top priority at the moment is to find every way to seek dialogue with China, which Takahashi Sanae has mentioned several times. Seeking help from the United States is a habitual move for Japan, but under the current situation, the US can only incite tensions and is not beneficial for dialogue. Among Japan's neighboring countries, the only one that can engage in dialogue with Japan, besides South Korea, is the Philippines, which repeatedly provokes issues in our South China Sea.

Therefore, South Korea holds a special position for Japan. South Korea and Japan have a long history of cooperation, and with Li Jae-myeong just ending his visit to China, the China-South Korea relationship is beginning to warm up. South Korea thus becomes Japan's only opportunity in the near future to establish dialogue with China as a "bridge country."

Therefore, this South Korea-Japan summit has become the most influential diplomatic event in Japan's recent activities.

Li Jae-myeong certainly realizes the position of South Korea and also understands that China will not compromise on sovereignty issues. Before Japan acknowledges its mistakes and withdraws its comments on Taiwan, if Li Jae-myeong insists on acting as an intermediary, it would be tantamount to being an accomplice to Japan, and could indirectly affect the newly regained China-South Korea relationship, which Li Jae-myeong clearly understands.

Therefore, the day before starting his visit to Japan, Li Jae-myeong had already given Japan a warning, stating that South Korea would not get involved in the Sino-Japanese relationship. In other words, "If Japan insists on bringing up China, we cannot talk about South Korea-Japan relations anymore."

This action also indirectly indicates that after the warming of China-South Korea relations, South Korea has taken the initiative in the diplomatic relationship with Japan. Therefore, Japan now has no choice but to adopt a strategy of luring South Korea.

(On the evening of the first day of Li Jae-myeong's visit to Japan, Takahashi Sanae taught Li Jae-myeong how to play the drums)

Takahashi Sanae adopted a "friendliness" approach, choosing her hometown Nara as the meeting location. This place is also a famous tourist area in Japan. Having once been a drummer in a heavy metal band in her youth, Takahashi Sanae specially arranged a "drum lesson" for Li Jae-myeong on the evening of January 13, selecting music that were the hottest pop songs in South Korea at the time, showing a clear attempt to please.

These small details reflect Takahashi Sanae's efforts to build a good personal relationship atmosphere to win over South Korea, but Li Jae-myeong seemed unaffected, maintaining a restrained and calm attitude regarding bilateral relations.

This seems to confirm Takahashi Sanae's incompetence in handling this important diplomatic relationship with South Korea, and Aso's new approach also gives a sense of "having to step in personally." This development might also imply potential impacts on Takahashi Sanae's position as Prime Minister, which is worth watching.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7595079153112678946/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.