The East Asia Institute (EAI), with support from the Korea Foundation (KF) and in collaboration with Japan’s Asia Pacific Initiative (API), the East Asia Institute (EAI) has published twelve research papers developed under the Korea–Japan Joint Work on the World 2050 project. Over the past year, scholars from both countries addressed five major shared challenges: security, economy, artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, and demographic decline. The project underscores the urgency of building a forward-looking Korea–Japan partnership to deliver mutual benefits and help shape a more inclusive regional and global order.

1. Yul Sohn, “Taking a Future-Oriented Approach to ROK-Japan Partnership” [Read Working Paper]
2. Chaesung Chun, “Future Military and Security Environments towards 2050: Challenges and Opportunities for Korea-Japan Relations” [Read Working Paper]
3. Hirohito Ogi, “Adjusting Net Imbalances of Benefits in Complex Geopolitics: Foundational Security Cooperation between Japan and South Korea” [Read Working Paper]
4. Takashi Terada, “Shaping the Future: Strategic Economic Governance and Collaboration for Japan-South Korea Partnership towards 2050” [Read Working Paper]
5. Junghwan Lee, “The Long-Term Vision for ROK-Japan Economic Cooperation in the Era of De-Globalization and Shrinking” [Read Working Paper]
6. Seoin Beak, “Korea-Japan AGI for Science, Science for AGI Cooperation”[Read Working Paper]
7. Makoto Shiono, “Safety and Ethics Guidelines for AI Cooperation between South Korea and Japan” [Read Working Paper]
8. Daisuke Harada, “Prospects of Cooperation between Japan and Korea toward Carbon Neutrality” [Read Working Paper]
9. Eunjung Lim, “2050 South Korea-Japan Cooperation in Energy and Climate Change-related Areas: Beyond Energy Security” [Read Working Paper]
10. Joon Han, “How can South Korea & Japan Overcome the Impending Population Risk Together?” [Read Working Paper]
11. Yoshiyuki Sagara, “Declining Population, Increasing Human-Machine Teaming” [Read Working Paper]
12. Ken Jimbo, “Conclusion: Leading a Regional order through Strategic Resilience: A Bilateral Partnership Ready for the Future” [Read Working Paper]

EAI released the results of its January 2025 public opinion survey on South Korean perceptions of political polarization and democracy. The survey highlights four main trends: (1) intensifying political polarization, driven more by partisan and emotional divides than ideological differences, (2) declining public trust in democracy, (3) widening partisan gaps in confidence toward core democratic institutions, and (4) the influence of political polarization on foreign policy preferences and perceptions of the U.S., China, Japan, and North Korea.

[Global NK Commentary] Will North Korea Collapse?