On June 10, 2026, South Korean media eDaily reported that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi released Japanese messages she received from South Korean high school students and expressed her gratitude.

On June 9, Prime Minister Takaichi wrote on her SNS, 'Messages written in Japanese by each and every student of Pungsan High School have reached me,' and posted photos of the messages. She also added, 'These are the students who participated in Andong's Rope Fireworks, which I watched with President Lee Jae-myung, and welcomed us.' She said, 'I was deeply moved,' and noted, 'I was encouraged by the students' wish for Japan-South Korea relations to develop towards the future.'

At the Japan-South Korea summit held from the 19th to the 20th of last month, President Lee Jae-myung and Prime Minister Takaichi visited Andong, South Korea, President Lee's hometown. The two leaders exchanged opinions on responses to anxieties in supply chains and energy markets due to the Middle East situation, Japan-U.S.-South Korea cooperation, and collaboration in advanced technology fields, among other topics.

Furthermore, the two leaders together watched the Hahoe Seonyu Julbul Nori, a traditional event held in Andong's Hahoe Folk Village. In a video released by the Japanese side, students who visited the venue were also seen asking Prime Minister Takaichi for a photo.

After the commemorative photo session, the students greeted her with 'Thank you very much,' and it is said that some students even called out 'Sanae, we love you' towards the camera.

This summit meeting was held as a reciprocal visit for President Lee's visit to Nara Prefecture, Japan, Prime Minister Takaichi's hometown, in January of this year.

Regarding this, South Korean netizens commented, 'I think it's a good thing that young students are interacting by looking to the future, not at the past between countries,' 'Even if there are political conflicts, there's no need to stop private exchanges. Especially exchanges among the younger generation should continue,' 'Prime Minister Takaichi's reaction of being touched by letters written in Japanese by South Korean students is natural for a human being,' 'Perhaps the relationship between South Korea and Japan is changing little by little,' and 'Rather than Japan and South Korea competing, it would be more beneficial for both countries to cooperate in economic, cultural, and technological fields.'

On the other hand, comments such as 'We must not forget historical issues,' 'Friendship and past issues need to be considered separately,' 'Prime Minister Takaichi has shown a hawkish stance on issues like the Dokdo (Takeshima, the Korean name for the island) problem, so it's not convincing when she only appeals for friendship at times like this,' 'I feel like they are trying to gloss over historical issues with this kind of exchange appeal,' and 'Cooperation with Japan is realistically necessary. However, we should not always just conform to Japan' were also seen. (Translation/Editing by Higuchi)