KARUIZAWA (AP) — Top diplomats from Europe and North America were arriving in this hot spring resort town to discuss the world’s most intractable crises, including ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, confront China’s aggression toward Taiwan and lure North Korea back to nuclear disarmament talks.
They will dive right in, with a private working dinner Sunday spotlighting China and North Korea. But even before the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ talks began, outside events threatened to overshadow the diplomacy, including questions about U.S. intelligence leaks that cast doubt over crucial alliances, and security worries after someone threw an explosive device at the Japanese leader during a campaign event.
Japan is eager to use a smoothly run G-7, which includes a host of gatherings on climate, finance and other issues ahead of a leaders’ summit next month in Hiroshima, to pursue a stronger unified front against what Tokyo and other democracies see as Russian, Chinese and North Korean aggression.
Amid widespread skepticism that the United Nations, which is often paralyzed by the oversized power on the Security Council of Russia and China, can do anything about these issues, many will be watching to see what, if anything, G-7 ministers from Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and the European Union might help to solve the problems.
Security in Karuizawa is tight, but Japan was forced to address security concerns after a young man threw explosives at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the eve of diplomats’ arrival, who was unharmed on Saturday. and continued to campaign, but the attack is an unwelcome development for Tokyo in the ongoing security dispute over the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nine months ago.
The three-day meeting was also the first real test of the Biden administration’s claim that minimal damage was done by the disclosure of classified documents related to the war in Ukraine and by the U.S. view of its allies and partners.
Before traveling to Japan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday from Hanoi that he had heard no concerns from allies, but the revelations will loom over the G-7 meeting, the first major international diplomatic conference since the documents were discovered online and made public.
On the diplomatic front, the talks, which end Tuesday, will be dominated by worries over the Russian leader’s threats to use tactical nuclear weapons as his forces struggle in Ukraine, China’s increasing belligerence toward Taiwan, the self-governing island Beijing claims as its own, and North Korea’s record-setting run of illicit weapons tests.
Some observers expect that Japan and other nations might use the G-7 to announce an increase in aid to Ukraine.
“As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been shaking the foundation of the international order, the international community is now at a historic turning point,” Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said ahead of the meeting. “I will lead discussions as chair of the meeting and show the G-7’s strong determination to absolutely reject attempts to change the status quo by force, and Russia’s threat of nuclear weapons or their use, while defending the rules-based international order.”
Though diplomats from Beijing won’t be present in Japan, China’s rapid military rise will also play a large part in discussions. China recently sent planes and ships to conduct a mock siege of Taiwan, and in recent years has witnessed a rapid increase in nuclear warheads, hardening of China’s territorial claims over the South China Sea, and an increase in President Xi Jinping’s rhetoric.
Partly in response to China’s rise, Japan has made a major departure from its post-World War II doctrine of pure self-defense and is committed to acquiring first-strike capabilities and cruise missiles to counter the growing threat.
Diplomats will also seek ways to resume diplomacy aimed at pressuring rival North Korea to return to arms control talks. Since last year, North Korea has tested about 100 missiles, including her ICBM, which showed potential to reach the US mainland, and other short-range weapons that threaten South Korea and Japan.
