As the host country for the G7 Summit, Japan is the center of attention. The most important theme of the summit is the increasing tension between China and Taiwan. “This is a very delicate issue for Japan. Just as a missile from North Korea flew over Japan’, said Japan observer Radboud Molijn of Global Bridges.

Japan, which is also currently a member of the UN Security Council, views itself as an important diplomatic force in the conflict, said Molijn. It is also the only Asian country that is a member of the G7, he emphasized. “It has been said in various statements that Japan is a country that will monitor the international order and make sure nothing major happens around Taiwan.”

Read also | North Korea’s missile test ‘really changed things’

‘Show for the stage’

G7 foreign ministers strongly condemned North Korea’s missile test at a multi-day meeting in Karuizawa, northwest of Tokyo. Just like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s military activities in the South China Sea.

“It’s a great show for the stage,” said Molijn. “It makes sense for the foreign ministers to meet here, but the real work takes place in a side room that is not visible to the outside world.” The foreign ministers of Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States have met in Japan since Sunday.

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China

Japanese influence in China was limited, thought Molijn. “Japan can issue all kinds of statements, but China is more the object of discussion than participating in the talks because they are not part of it.”

Japan recently doubled its defense spending, from one to two percent of GDP. “That’s pretty big.” But what’s more important is what happens on the pitch, says Molijn. ‘America, the Netherlands and Japan have made an agreement on limiting semiconductor exports to China. That will definitely have consequences, because China is already taking countermeasures.’

Read also | EU foreign heads: Relations with China are defined by Beijing’s behavior

North Korea

In North Korea, ministers say ballistic missile tests and nuclear tests must stop. In Sudan, where fighting is currently raging, the G7 nations are asking for a ceasefire. In Afghanistan, ministers called on the Taliban to lift the ban on female staff in non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The G7 started as a consultative group focused on economic issues, but has grown in importance as the Western Summit which also deals with political issues. Apart from these seven countries, the European Union has also participated since 1977.