The governor has not yet visited Seoul even once during Mayor Oh's term in office. According to an interview with the Korean newspaper Herald Business, Mayor Oh
Koichi Mizushima, a Japanese Ambassador to Korea, delivered a speech to the President of Japan to "greet for the new year and discuss mutual cooperation on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan."
Mayor Oh met with Ambassador Mizushima. Mayor Oh asked Ambassador Mizushima about his interest in the World Council of Metropolitan Cities (Metropolis) General Assembly to be held in Seoul in June this year and the Smart Life Week (SLW) to be held in September.
Seoul and Tokyo signed a sister city partnership 35 years ago in September 1988. In particular, during the meeting, Mayor Oh requested Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike to attend the Metropolis General Assembly.
A Seoul city official said, "The first invitation to attend the Metropolis General Assembly was sent directly to the governor of Tokyo, and this time we requested him to visit Seoul through the Japanese ambassador to Korea."
Mayor O has visited Tokyo twice so far. The first time was in September 2007, during his first term in office, when he met with Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara (current governor) at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
He met with Governor Koike in Seoul on 2020 and then Governor Yuriko Koike in June 2023. However, the Tokyo governor's visit to Seoul is not unrelated to his political leanings. A Seoul city official said, "In Japan, the governor's overseas business trip is
"The regulations are so strict that travel is only possible once or twice a year," he said. "Rather than visiting Seoul, where it would be politically burdensome, he seems to prefer visiting other countries."
2025/02/06 07:36 KST
Copyrights(C) Herald wowkorea.jp 96