Il Ishiba "Korean martial law, please pay close attention"...the uncertainty of the cold weather

[Anchor]
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he is watching Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of emergency martial law with great interest.

Japanese media are analyzing the related background and the impact on Korea-Japan relations by covering real-time news of martial law in Korea as major news in real-time.

I'm connecting to the local area in Japan. Correspondent Kim Se-ho!

[Reporter]
Yes. It's Tokyo.

[Anchor]
Please tell us what Prime Minister Ishiba said about martial law in Korea first.

[Reporter]
On his way to his official residence this morning, Prime Minister Ishiba was asked about the "safety and impact of Japanese" following South Korea's declaration of martial law.

Let's hear from Prime Minister Ishiba himself.

[Shigeru Ishiba / Japanese Prime Minister: I am not in a position to tell you about the internal affairs of other countries. However, after martial law, I have been watching with special and serious interest.

Regarding the safety of Japanese in Korea, he said, "We are taking possible measures such as sending consular e-mails immediately," stressing that he would make every effort to ensure the safety of Japanese.

However, he added that he is not exposed to any reports of Japanese damage at this point.

At the same time, he said that nothing has been decided yet on a visit to Korea in January next year regarding the report on coordination of his visit to Korea.

Japanese government officials were also very surprised by President Yoon's declaration of emergency martial law last night and reportedly responded unexpectedly.

[Anchor]
The Japanese media are also reporting as major news, and they are analyzing the wavelength afterwards, right?

[Reporter]
Yes. Major daily newspapers, including Yomiuri, Asahi, and Nihon Keizai, published an article on the front page that President Yoon declared an emergency martial law.

NHK and other broadcasts also cover the martial law situation in Korea every hour and as major news.

Earlier, Prime Minister Ishiba briefly mentioned his visit to Korea.

Japanese media predicted that Prime Minister Ishiba's plan to visit Korea next month could be disrupted in the aftermath of the emergency martial law.

Kyodo News said Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said Prime Minister Ishiba's visit to Korea could be affected by future circumstances.

Yomiuri also predicted that Prime Minister Ishiba visited Korea in January next year and coordinated a summit with President Yoon, but the schedule could be changed.

Japanese Defense Minister Ken Nakatani, who has been seeking to visit Korea this month, also said he would watch the situation with special interest in the emergency situation in South Korea,

In the aftermath of the emergency martial law, there are observations that it is difficult for Japan's defense minister to visit Korea for the first time in nine years since 2015.

Japanese media analyzed that President Yoon's sudden declaration of martial law was intended to take the lead in state administration in the context of low approval ratings and a minority ruling party.

But the Yomiuri Shimbun said it was unclear whether the authoritarian measures would win public support, and another round of chaos was expected.

In addition, Japanese media also introduced cases of Japanese citizens giving up their scheduled trip to Korea, expressing their anxiety toward Korea.

I'm Kim Se-ho of YTN in Tokyo.