ED Japan's 1st female PM

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, center, and her new cabinet members pose for a group photo in Tokyo, Oct. 21. AP-Yonhap

Sanae Takaichi, the 64-year-old chief of Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has become Japan's first-ever woman prime minister and the country's 104th leader since 1885. The hard-line conservative won with 237 votes in Japan's lower house, a slight majority. She did face a runoff in the upper house, but came out the winner. A successor of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stimulus-focused economic policies, Takaichi made history after the LDP broke with its moderate former coalition partner, the Komeito Party, to join forces with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party.

The two parties together do not have a majority in the Japanese parliament. For now, Takaichi has time to demonstrate domestically and internationally that she is a pragmatic leader committed to efforts to "build a strong Japan economy and protect its interests."

Stressing that the significance of Seoul-Tokyo ties are "now greater than ever," Takaichi said, "I want to move our ties forward in a stable, future-oriented way, building on the foundation laid by past administrations."

Despite expectations for a more cooperative stance, Takaichi has indicated her interest in revising three security-related documents to possibly raise defense spending to 2 percent or more of Japan's gross domestic product by 2027, according to a domestic news outlet and Japanese media. She favors rewriting the pacifist Japanese Constitution to empower the country's armed forces, and she has visited Yasukuni Shrine, which honors those who died in wars, including 14 Class A war criminals. She criticized the statements of former PMs Keizo Obuchi and Tomiichi Murayama apologizing for Japan's historic wartime atrocities in Asia, and has disputed Seoul's sovereignty over the Dokdo islets.

Takaichi, however, refrained from visiting Yasukuni Shrine this year, perhaps in light of myriad diplomatic events already lined up. This includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Malaysia, the upcoming summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Japan Oct. 27-29, and, most importantly for Korea, the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

A hard-line conservative measure such as strengthening the Japanese military is not likely to sit well with neighboring nations such as Korea and China. Such a development would be unwelcome to both nations, especially while the global order is being reshaped by the sharp competition between the United States and China. Seoul-Tokyo ties have often waxed and waned based on historical issues and changes of governments. However, it is hard to refute that the two neighbor nations occupy a vital place in the geopolitical map of Asia. Takaichi knows this and should work constructively with the Lee Jae Myung administration constructively.

Lee congratulated the new PM on Facebook, writing, "I hope to work with you to further strengthen future-oriented, mutually beneficial cooperation between our two nations and peoples." The new Japanese prime minister should recognize the stress placed on "future-oriented" and "mutually beneficial cooperation" in the president's message.

As both leaders have expressed intentions to hold talks, the upcoming APEC summit could offer an opportune time and venue.

If the two leaders meet, Lee should convey his pragmatic line of diplomacy to maximize the national interests. In an editorial, the English-language paper Japan Times called on the new prime minister to let pragmatism and not ideology guide her path forward. Takaichi, for her part, should expand on her inauguration speech and her plans to strengthen Japan's economy.

The two nations have significantroom to cooperate in semiconductor manufacturing and stabilization of the rare earth supply chain. Little will be gained if they allow relations to deteriorate. Both sides should try to be clear in their messaging. The face-to-face diplomacy that has been recently renewed between Korea and Japan should also continue.