The leaders of South Korea and Japan were not supposed to get along.

韩国和日本的领导人本不该相处得如此融洽。

President Lee Jae Myung earned his stripes in a political party that was long skeptical of rapprochement with Japan, which brutally oppressed Korea as a colonial ruler. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has a reputation for arguing that Japan’s wartime atrocities, including on the Korean Peninsula, have been exaggerated.

李在明总统是在一个长期对韩日和解持怀疑态度的政党中崭露头角的——日本作为殖民统治者曾对韩国实施过残酷的压迫。高市早苗首相则向来以辩称日本的战时暴行（包括在朝鲜半岛的暴行）被夸大而闻名。

Yet when the two leaders met in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday — their third summit since October — both reaffirmed what Ms. Takaichi described as a “deepening friendship and trust.”

然而，周二这两位领导人在韩国安东会面时——这是他们自去年10月以来的第三次首脑会晤——双方都再次确认了高市早苗所形容的“不断加深的友谊与信任”。

Mr. Lee characterized the two nations as “strategic partners in jointly responding to the rapidly changing international environment.”

李在明将两国关系定性为“共同应对快速变化的国际环境的战略合作伙伴”。

Referring to shocks from the Iran war, he added, “In particular, we agreed that close bilateral cooperation is needed more than ever amid the instability in supply chains and energy markets arising from the recent situation in the Middle East.”

在谈到伊朗战争带来的冲击时，他补充道：“特别是，我们一致认为，在近期中东局势引发的供应链和能源市场动荡之中，比以往任何时候都更需要两国之间的紧密合作。”

Here’s what to know about Ms. Takaichi’s two-day trip.

以下是关于高市早苗为期两天的访问所需要了解的信息。

What is the history of Korean-Japanese ties?

韩日关系经历了怎样的变迁？

Although South Korea and Japan are both key U.S. allies, they have frequently clashed over historical and territorial disputes rooted in Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945. The United States has long urged both nations to leave these grievances behind and to work together to help contain China’s expanding military and economic influence.

尽管都是美国的核心盟友，但由于1910年至1945年日本对韩国的殖民统治所引发的历史和领土争端，韩国和日本频繁发生冲突。长期以来，美国一直敦促两国摒弃这些历史恩怨，携手合作，以帮助遏制中国不断扩大的军事和经济影响力。

(Over the weekend, President Trump called both Ms. Takaichi and Mr. Lee to brief them on his talks with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing last week.)

（就在周末，特朗普总统致电高市早苗和李在明，向他们通报了上周他在北京与中国领导人习近平会谈的情况。）

Relations hit a low point around 2019 when the two governments revived a bitter dispute over the legacy of so-called comfort women — Korean women forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military during World War II.

2019年左右，两国关系跌入低谷，当时两国政府再度因所谓的“慰安妇”——二战期间被强征为日本军队性奴隶的韩国女性——历史遗留问题爆发了激烈争端。

But Mr. Lee’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, repaired ties with Tokyo, arguing that historical differences should not hinder cooperation against security threats from North Korea and China. While Mr. Yoon won praise from Washington, he faced intense domestic backlash, especially from Mr. Lee’s Democratic Party, which was then the main opposition. Mr. Yoon was eventually removed from office following his brief imposition of martial law.

但李在明的前任尹锡悦修复了与东京的关系，他认为历史分歧不应阻碍两国防范来自朝鲜和中国的安全威胁。虽然尹锡悦赢得了华盛顿的赞誉，但他面临着国内的强烈反对，尤其是来自当时作为主要反对党的李在明所属的共同民主党。尹锡悦最终在他实施的那场短暂的戒严后被罢免。

Mr. Lee, a fierce critic of Mr. Yoon, won the presidency last June. Four months later, Ms. Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister.

曾对尹锡悦提出激烈批评的李在明在去年6月赢得了总统选举。四个月后，高市早苗成为了日本首位女性首相。

Observers in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington feared that Korean-Japanese relations were poised to turn frosty again.

首尔、东京和华盛顿的观察家此前一度担心，韩日关系可能会再次落至冰点。

How did the two leaders get along?

两位领导人是如何建立起良好关系的？

Mr. Lee and Ms. Takaichi surprised the skeptics.

李在明和高市早苗让质疑者们大跌眼镜。

Upon taking office, Mr. Lee championed pragmatism as a pillar of his diplomacy — an approach that involved strengthening the traditional alliance with Washington while simultaneously improving relations with China and North Korea. It also meant he would not allow historical grievances to stand in the way of a closer partnership with Japan.

执政后，李在明将务实主义奉为其外交政策的支柱——这包括在加强与华盛顿传统盟友关系的同时，改善与中国和朝鲜的关系。这也意味着他不会让历史恩怨阻碍与日本建立更紧密的伙伴关系。

Soon after Ms. Takaichi took office, she met with Mr. Lee in Gyeongju, South Korea. Mr. Lee visited her hometown, Nara, in January. A particularly symbolic moment of their developing relationship came when Ms. Takaichi, an amateur heavy metal drummer, invited Mr. Lee — who had no drumming experience — to join her in playing along to K-pop hits, including “Dynamite” by BTS and “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.”

高市早苗就职后不久便在韩国庆州与李在明会面。李在明随后于今年1月访问了高市的家乡奈良。两人关系发展中一个极具象征意义的时刻是：身为业余重金属鼓手的高市早苗邀请毫无击鼓经验的李在明加入她，共同为K-pop热门歌曲伴奏，其中包括防弹少年团的《Dynamite》以及出自《KPop猎魔女团》的《Golden》。

Mr. Lee later invited Ms. Takaichi to his hometown, Andong in central South Korea — an ancient city once renowned for the Confucian scholars who served in royal courts.

李在明随后邀请高市早苗访问他的家乡——位于韩国中部的安东。这是一座古老的城市，曾因出过许多在朝廷任职的儒家学者而闻名。

Within South Korea, and within Mr. Lee’s own Democratic Party, voices have grown in recent years calling for closer cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo to address global supply chain disruptions and deepening geopolitical uncertainty, including the rapidly shifting foreign policy of the Trump administration.

近年来，在韩国国内以及李在明所属的共同民主党内部，呼吁首尔与东京密切合作以应对全球供应链中断和日益加剧的地缘政治不确定性——包括特朗普政府快速转变的外交政策——的声音不断扩大。

“Geopolitically, South Korea and Japan have all the more reason to work together to uphold a rules-based international order in light of Russia and North Korea’s sanctions-violating military transactions, China’s expansionist policies in Asia, and trade uncertainties related to Trump’s tariffs and conflict in the Middle East,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

韩国首尔梨花女子大学国际研究教授雷夫-埃里克·伊斯利表示：“从地缘政治的角度来看，鉴于俄罗斯和朝鲜违反制裁的军事交易、中国在亚洲的扩张性政策，以及与特朗普关税和中东冲突相关的贸易不确定性，韩国和日本更有理由携手维护基于规则的国际秩序。”

What’s on the menu?

访问行程中还有哪些安排？

South Korean officials were eager to build on the good will between the two leaders, extending to Ms. Takaichi what they described as “honors and courtesies equivalent to those accorded during a state visit.” A traditional Korean honor guard — resplendent with trumpets and drums — escorted her limousine as it arrived for the summit.

韩国官员非常渴望巩固两位领导人之间的友好关系，向高市早苗提供了他们所形容的“相当于国事访问级别的礼遇和接待”。当高市的座驾抵达首尔参加峰会时，一支身着盛装、奏着小号和军鼓的韩国传统仪仗队为其护航。

After talks on weighty geopolitical issues, they shared a dinner featuring Andong-style braised chicken — a dish beloved in Korea — paired with Andong soju and Nara sake. They will then visit Andong’s Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its traditional tiled houses, to see performances of Korean music and a fire art display.

在就重大的地缘政治议题举行会谈后，他们共同享用了晚餐，菜品包括在韩国广受欢迎的安东炖鸡，并搭配了安东烧酒和奈良清酒。随后，他们将前往被列入联合国教科文组织世界文化遗产名录的安东河回民俗村——那里以传统的瓦房闻名，并欣赏韩国音乐演出和烟火艺术表演。

Ms. Takaichi said she looked forward to continuing shuttle diplomacy, asking Mr. Lee to keep in touch through frequent phone calls and to visit Japan again. “Shall we go to a hot spring the next time you are in Japan? Or where should we go?” she said, looking at Mr. Lee. “I assure you that I will take you to a beautiful place.”

高市早苗表示，她期待继续开展穿梭外交，并请李在明通过频繁的电话保持联系并再次访问日本。她看着李在明说：“下次您来日本时，我们去泡温泉怎么样？或者我们该去哪里呢？我保证会带您去一个美丽的地方。”