Relations between Japan and South Korea are blossoming

MOTOMIYA YURI, the heroine of “Eye Love You”, a hit television series in East Asia, is a Japanese woman with the power to read minds. Her gift makes romance hard, so she gives up on love—until she meets Yoon Tae-oh, a hunky South Korean who becomes an intern at her chocolate company. He thinks in Korean, rendering Ms Motomiya’s mind-reading moot; the two begin a torrid affair. The show is the first Japanese prime-time love story to feature a Korean actor as the lead. Since its launch in January, it has amassed legions of fans in both countries.

“Eye Love You” echoes developments off screen. Since Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s president, took office in 2022, relations between the two neighbours and American allies have blossomed. The question is whether the good times can last. The legacy of Japan’s colonisation of Korea between 1910 and 1945 haunts the budding romance. And political changes in both countries this year could upset its development. Kishida Fumio, Japan’s prime minister, had considered a visit to South Korea this week to meet Mr Yoon (and to watch Ohtani Shohei, a Japanese baseball star, play in Seoul). A looming parliamentary election in South Korea and a continuing financial scandal in Japan made that difficult. How the relationship evolves will have big implications for the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.