1. The 22^nd Republic of Korea (ROK)-Japan meeting of directors-general for consular affairs took place at the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Seoul, on November 7, 2019, co-chaired by Mr. Byun Chul-hwan, Director-General for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Mizushima Koichi, Director-General of the Consular Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

2. In the meeting, both sides reviewed the progress in cooperation on the full range of consular issues including people-to-people exchanges, cooperation in supporting immigration and sojourn, and the protection of their nationals in each other’s countries. In particular, the ROK side repeatedly asked for the Japanese side’s interest and cooperation to establish the second Korean School in Tokyo.

○ (Cooperation in people-to-people exchanges, and immigration and sojourn-related issues) With the number of people engaging in exchanges between the two countries surpassing 10 million (10.48 million in 2018), the two sides reviewed the current state of people-to-people exchanges, and discussed ways to provide greater immigration convenience.

○ (Cooperation in protecting nationals overseas) The two sides agreed on the need to pay attention in order to prevent personal injury due to growing negative sentiments toward one another, and asked for each other’s governments to continue investigations and search operations for the missing nationals in each other’s countries.

○ (Establishment of the second Korean School in Tokyo) Following the previous meeting of directors-general for consular affairs, the ROK side reiterated that considering the school age population of the ROK nationals in Japan’s Kanto area (15,000 people), the second Korean School needs to be built, in addition to the existing Tokyo Korean School (about 1,400 students). Furthermore, the ROK side asked for Japan’s interest in and support for securing land for building the second Korean School.

3. In addition, both sides exchanged views on consular policies of the two governments such as the issuance of e-passports for future generations, immigration screening system and protection of their nationals overseas.

4. The two sides noted with appreciation that the 22^nd meeting served as a useful opportunity to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in consular affairs between the two countries. Furthermore, they agreed to hold the 23^rd meeting in Japan at an appropriate time.