Politics
Lower house approves bill to pool funds for defense spending
Japan's lower house on Tuesday approved a bill creating a special pool of funds to substantially increase defense spending despite opposition lawmakers' resistance. If enacted, the law will allow the government to set aside non-tax revenue derived from selling government assets or transferring money from its special accounts in the… Read
Riding on G7 success, Kishida eyes early election
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is increasingly certain to call a snap election, perhaps within weeks, as domestic support surges after a G7 summit that drew a surprise visit by Ukraine's president. While an election for parliament's more powerful lower house is not due until 2025, Kishida is keen to… Read
Beijing criticizes Japan, Britain over 'anti-China' G7 summit
State-backed Chinese mouthpiece Global Times called the G7 an "anti-China workshop" on Monday, after Beijing summoned Japan's envoy and berated Britain in a fiery response to statements issued at the weekend G7 summit in Hiroshima. A joint communique issued on Saturday singled out China on issues ranging from Taiwan and… Read
Japanese A-bomb survivors worry Zelenskyy's G7 visit overshadows nuclear disarmament message
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s last-minute participation Sunday in the Group of Seven summit has brought intense global attention to Russia's invasion of his nation. But it has also worried atomic bomb survivors who said the high-profile visit overshadowed a rare chance to push world leaders to focus on nuclear abolishment.… Read
Biden invites Kishida, Yoon to meet in Washington
U.S. President Joe Biden invited his Japanese and South Korean counterparts for another meeting in Washington at their trilateral meeting in Hiroshima on sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit on Sunday, a senior U.S. official said. "The leaders discussed how to take their trilateral cooperation to new heights",… Read
G7 summit gives Zelenskyy chance to win over fence sitters
The Group of Seven (G7) rich nations signaled to Russia their readiness to stand by Ukraine for the long haul while giving President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a chance to win over countries such as Brazil and India on the last day of a summit in Japan. But even as the G7… Read
G7 urges China to press Russia to end war in Ukraine, respect Taiwan's status, fair trade rules
The Group of Seven democracies united Saturday in urging China to pressure its strategic partner Russia to end its war on Ukraine. In a joint statement issued Saturday, the G7 leaders emphasized they did not want to harm China and were seeking “constructive and stable relations” with Beijing, “recognizing the… Read
G7, partners try to build consensus on global issues like infrastructure, energy, climate change
Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies are joining their counterparts from other countries during their summit in Japan in an effort to expand the G7’s sway and to include voices from the so-called Global South. From South America to South Asia, Ukraine to the South Pacific, the guests… Read
Paris sees success in bringing Zelensky to G7
When Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed in Hiroshima on Saturday to meet G7 leaders, the Ukrainian president arrived on a French government plane -- a move Paris sees as a key diplomatic success. Bringing Zelenskyy to the summit gives him a chance to engage with some key countries that have so far… Read
Italy's Meloni to leave G7 a day early to tackle floods crisis at home
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to leave the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima a day earlier than scheduled to lead the response to flooding which hit the north of her country this week, two sources said on Saturday. Torrential rains devastated the eastern side of the… Read
