The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Kishida secures cooperation from five G7 leaders
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has secured cooperation from the leaders of the ve Group of Seven countries he visited this month on policies toward Russia and China, in preparation for the G7 summit Japan will host in Hiroshima in May.
Kishida completed his visits to Britain, Canada, France, Italy and the United States and returned to Japan on Sunday evening.
e next task is to improve the relationship with South Korea, and Kishida will seek to resolve the issue of lawsuits by former wartime requisitioned workers from the Korean Peninsula.
“I was able to exchange views with the countries’ leaders in various elds, deepen trust with them and achieve results that will lead to future developments,” Kishida said at a press conference in Washington on Saturday morning.
e main purpose of these foreign visits at the beginning of the year was to con rm the
ve countries’ positions prior to the Hiroshima summit. Kishida briefed the leaders of each country on the anticipated agenda for the G7 summit and exchanged views with them. He is also planning to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before the summit, as they did not meet this time.
At the May summit, Kishida will place particular emphasis on the unity of the G7 in order to uphold the international order based on the rule of law. At the press conference, he explained, “e biggest issue [in the meetings with the leaders] was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” He also called it “a challenge to the principles of the international community as a whole,” and agreed with his counterparts that continuing sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine was necessary.
In order to maintain and strengthen the international order, the promotion of a free and open Indo-Paci c will be on the agenda at the May summit. With China’s increasing maritime expansion in mind, Kishida said at the press conference, “We must hold dialogue [with China] while demanding responsible behavior from it.”
Attention will also be on improving Japan-South Korea relations. e South Korean government has announced a proposal to solve the issue of the lawsuits by former wartime requisitioned workers, in which a foundation under the South Korean government will shoulder compensation that the defendant Japanese companies have been ordered to pay by the South Korean Supreme Court.
“e diplomatic authorities and other authorities [in Japan and South Korea] are making e orts now. I hope that these e orts will continue,” Kishida said at the press conference, expressing hope that South Korea will seek an early resolution. While keeping a close eye on Seoul’s response, Kishida is considering inviting South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to the summit. (Jan. 17)
U.S. URGED TO REJOIN TPP
WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is urging the United States to come back to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying that its participation in the trade deal is of the utmost importance for prosperity in the Asia-Paci c.
In a speech at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington on Friday, Kishida called for the United States to return to the TPP from which it had withdrawn, saying, “e United States’ return is of paramount importance.”
e TPP was signed by 12 countries, including Japan, the United States and Australia, in February 2016, but the superpower announced its withdrawal in 2017, and the agreement instead entered into force in December 2018 under the framework of 11 countries.
Kishida expressed his intention to continue to encourage the U.S. to return “to forge a fair economic order in the Asia-Paci c region so that every one of us can enjoy prosperity.”
Kishida also spoke about a new U.S.-led economic framework known as the Indo-Paci c Economic Framework, saying: “For the United States’ engagement in the Indo-Paci c region, economic and trade aspects offer strategic importance. Japan will work with the U.S. to make it a success.” (Jan. 17)