Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.asahi.com
Even after more than a month, criticism and doubts continue to be raised at Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s failure to participate in an online Group of Seven summit meeting.
Takaichi did not take part in the leaders’ meeting even though there was no official duty she had to attend to.
Her place was taken not by an elected Cabinet minister, but a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official.
For a total of seven G-7 online meetings between 2023 and 2025, then Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba attended all the sessions.
Not attending can be called a judgment error lacking the fundamentals of diplomacy.
The issue has become this prolonged because the explanation given by Takaichi and government officials for her nonattendance was haphazard and not very convincing.
There is the sense that various excuses were laid on top of each other and might have damaged trust in Japan.
At 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, a meeting of about 30 minutes was held to discuss the global energy situation.
Five leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, participated.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham did not attend because he was at his father’s funeral. Taking his place was the foreign minister.
Takaichi ended a dinner before 8 p.m. with executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including Vice President Taro Aso, at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, but still decided to forego the online meeting.
In a post made Oct. 5 to her X account, Takaichi described the session as one suddenly set by host nation France on the day of the meeting and explained that proxy attendance was allowed.
She added that the main focus of the meeting was dealing with diesel fuel prices in Europe and the United States.
At the Oct. 16 Upper House Budget Committee session, Takaichi further explained that preparations were not completed because setting up the computer display and connecting communication lines required calling a company in to do the work.
Even if the finalizing of the time for the start of the meeting was made late, initial notification about the meeting came on the morning of the session so preparations could have been completed if she intended to take part.
Saying the focus of the meeting was on Europe and the United States also does not serve as a good reason.
Japan is the only Asian nation participating in the G-7.
Support and empathy will not be gained from the West unless Japan demonstrates a stance of aggressively involving itself in issues that may be centered on the West while it seeks their understanding and cooperation in dealing with China and North Korea.
The Trump administration continues to push for peace through force and the Middle East situation remains unsettled.
There are no signs of an improvement in Japan-China ties and Russia is ramping up pressure on Japan.
Cooperation with nations that share common values, such as in Europe and Canada, is even more important now for Japanese diplomacy.
At his Nov. 10 news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Takaichi has been emphasizing ties with G-7 leaders, noting her separate meetings with European leaders.
If that is the case, that stance should also be maintained in multilateral diplomatic forums.
–The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 11
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