Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung struck an unexpectedly playful note in diplomacy on Tuesday, sharing a drum performance after their summit talks in the historic Japanese city of Nara.
The light-hearted exchange came as a carefully planned surprise. Takaichi revealed that she arranged the musical moment after Lee spoke about his long-held dream of playing the drums during their meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit last year.
Seated behind a drum kit manufactured by Japanese brand Pearl, the two leaders performed “Golden,” the recent Golden Globe Award–winning Best Original Song, along with BTS’s global hit “Dynamite” from the Netflix series K-Pop Demon Hunters. Takaichi, who is known to have played the drums during her college years, guided Lee through the performance.
韓国の李在明大統領と首脳会談を行いました。
両国を取り巻く戦略環境が厳しさを増す中、日韓関係、日韓米の連携の重要性はますます高まっています。
李大統領との間では、日韓両国が地域の安定に連携して役割を果たしていくべきとの点を確認しました。… pic.twitter.com/38ozZqyjFF— 高市早苗 (@takaichi_sanae) January 13, 2026
Sharing the moment on X, Takaichi wrote: “I played drums with President Lee Jae-myung. When we met at APEC last year, he mentioned that his dream was to play the drums, so I prepared a surprise for the occasion. We performed to ‘Golden,’ which won the Best Original Song award at the recent Golden Globe Awards, and BTS’s ‘Dynamite.’ President Lee said he was delighted to have fulfilled his long-held dream of playing the drums.”
The two leaders wore matching blue uniforms emblazoned with their names in English and their respective national flags. At the end of the session, they exchanged signed drumsticks, adding a personal touch to the symbolic encounter.
President Lee later described the experience as deeply meaningful, reflecting on both the music and the metaphor behind it.
어설프지만, 그래서 더 잘 어울렸던 다카이치 총리님과의 합주^^
슬쩍 숟가락 하나 얹어봤지만 역시 프로의 실력은 다르더군요.박자는 조금 달라도 리듬 맞추려는 마음은 같았던 것처럼, 미래지향적 한일 관계도 한 마음으로 만들어가겠습니다. pic.twitter.com/pRY5jCjSl4
— 이재명 (@Jaemyung_Lee) January 13, 2026
“I tried to sneak in just one spoonful, but as expected, a pro’s skill is on another level. Even though the beats were a little off, it felt like our hearts were aligned in trying to match the rhythm, and just like that, we’ll work together with one mind to build a forward-looking Japan-Korea relationship,” he said.
South Korean presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-joon stated that the event was deliberately arranged to reflect the growing rapport between the two leaders, transforming what could have been an informal meeting into a moment of cultural connection rather than a prolonged negotiation.
The Nara summit was also significant diplomatically, marking the first visit by a South Korean president to a Japanese city outside Tokyo in 15 years for a bilateral meeting. Nara holds particular importance for Takaichi, as it is both her hometown and political constituency.
During their formal discussions, the leaders reaffirmed the importance of Japan–South Korea ties amid an increasingly complex regional security environment. They agreed to strengthen cooperation on security, economic relations, and trilateral coordination with the United States, while committing to maintain “shuttle diplomacy” through regular high-level exchanges.
