Busan City (Mayor Jeon Jae-soo) announced that Mayor Jeon met with Otsuka Tsuyoshi, Consul-General of Japan in Busan, at the City Hall International Protocol Room on the morning of September 23 at 10:30 AM, and discussed ways to expand friendly exchange and cooperation between Busan and Japan.

First, Mayor Jeon expressed his welcome, saying, "I am very glad to meet you," and added, "Busan and Japan are close neighbors that not only are geographically close but have also maintained human and cultural exchanges for a long time." Busan has maintained exchanges with Japanese local governments in various fields, establishing sister-city relationships with Shimonoseki and Fukuoka, and friendship-cooperation city relationships with Osaka and Nagasaki Prefecture.

In response, Consul-General Otsuka said, "I sincerely congratulate Mayor Jeon Jae-soo on his inauguration," and responded, "I look forward to even more active friendly exchange and cooperation between Busan and Japan moving forward."

On this day, both sides exchanged views on ways to further vitalize tourism and private-sector exchange between Busan and Japan. Evaluating positively that Japanese tourists visiting Busan reached approximately 340,000 by July of this year (2026), Mayor Jeon stated, "It is important to steadily continue exchanges between local governments and citizens, and we will further vitalize private-sector exchanges such as tourism and culture to continuously develop the relationship between Busan and Japan." Consul-General Otsuka expressed agreement with Mayor Jeon's remarks, stating, "To attract more Japanese tourists, it is important to increase repeat visitors, and there is a need to publicize new charms by utilizing Busan's diverse regional tourism resources."

Following this, both sides exchanged opinions on marine sector cooperation and future cooperation measures such as the Arctic route. Mayor Jeon introduced Busan's vision to leap forward as South Korea's practical maritime capital based on Busan's strengths in maritime affairs, ports, and logistics, and emphasized that the Arctic route could become a new growth opportunity for Busan. Consul-General Otsuka mentioned that Japan has also maintained continuous interest in the Arctic route, and both sides discussed the possibility of cooperation between Busan and Japan in the marine, port, and logistics sectors.

Lastly, Mayor Jeon concluded the meeting by saying, "Busan aims to grow into a central city leading the development of the southern region," and added, "I look forward to Busan and Japan creating substantive results by expanding cooperation in various fields such as tourism, culture, maritime affairs, ports, and logistics, based on exchanges between local governments and citizens."

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