○ The 7th Korea-Japan Governors' Meeting was held on November 1 in Yamanishi Prefecture, Japan. The meeting resumed after a six-year hiatus, last held in Busan in 2017.

○ The meeting was attended by the (vice) governors of five local governments in South Korea - Gyeongbuk, Incheon, Sejong, Gangwon, and Jeollabuk-do - and 11 prefectures in Japan, including Miyagi Prefecture, which is the prefectural head of the National Governors' Association.

○During the meeting, local governors from both countries exchanged views on local government issues and solutions, including the declining birthrate and aging population, balanced local development, and cooperation between Korean and Japanese local governments.

○The Korea-Japan Governors' Meeting was first discussed at the inauguration ceremony of President Kim Dae-jung in February 1998 when the then President of the National Governors' Association of Japan proposed exchanges between local governments in the two countries. The Governors Association of the Republic of Korea was formed in 1999 to promote exchanges and joint cooperation between local governments in the two countries, and currently involves 64 local governors (17 in Korea and 47 in Japan).