Diplomats Gather in Japan For a Historic Turning Point and What It Could Mean

Diplomats from Europe, North America and other parts of the world are coming to Karuizawa, Japan this Sunday. They will talk about some of the most difficult issues in the world today such as making Russia stop their war in Ukraine, standing up against China’s bullying against Taiwan and convincing North Korea to come back for discussions about nuclear disarmament.

The Group of Seven foreign ministers started their talks with a private dinner focused on China and North Korea. But outside events before the start had an impact, such as U.S. intelligence information leaking and causing doubt in international friendships. There was also worry about security after someone threw an explosive during a campaign for the leader of Japan.

Japan wants to use the G-7 meetings, which include talks about climate change, money, and other topics, to create a stronger alliance against countries like Russia, China, and North Korea that are causing problems. These meetings will happen before a special meeting with all the leaders in Hiroshima next month.

Lots of people don’t think the United Nations, which is usually unable to act because some countries (like Russia and China) have too much power in the Security Council, can solve any problems. All eyes will be on the G-7 ministers from Japan, America, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and the European Union to see if they can make a difference.

The security in Karuizawa is strong, however Japan had to face safety worries after a young man threw an explosive item at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida the day that the diplomats went there. On Saturday, Kishida wasn’t hurt and kept doing his campaign but this attack made Tokyo nervous as nine months back another Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe was killed.

Kishida said that the summit is in need of extra security and safety measures because many important people from all around the world will be attending it. The whole three-day talks will also help to know if the Biden administration’s claim that there have not been any big problems caused by releasing very confidential documents regarding the fighting in Ukraine or opinion of other countries towards America is true or not.

Before he went to Japan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said from Hanoi that no one had complained about anything. However, these new documents found on the internet will be a major topic for discussion at the G-7 meeting which is the first big international summit since these documents were uncovered and made public.

At the talks that end on Tuesday, countries are worried about Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons, China’s unhappiness with Taiwan and North Korea’s many illegal missile tests. The G-7 may also announce more help for Ukraine.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the international community is now facing a big moment because Russia invaded Ukraine. He noted that he will lead discussions as chair of the meeting and make clear at the G-7 that they reject anyone who wants to change things by force, and stand against using Russian nuclear weapons or even just threatening with them. They want to keep following the rules of global cooperation.

Although there won’t be Chinese diplomats in Japan, China’s military power will still take a big role in the talks. Recently, China sent planes and ships to practice capturing Taiwan. Its nuclear weapons stocks have grown significantly over the past few years and its leader Xi Jinping often speaks about possible future conflict.

Recently Japan had decided to go away from what it has been doing after World War II which is mainly focusing on self-defense, and will try to get new weapons like missiles for preemptive strikes in order to protect itself against any possible threat.

Diplomats are trying to kick-start talks that could stop North Korea from using their missiles. Over the past year, North Korea launched around 100 missiles, some of which can reach places like the United States. Other kinds of missiles are a threat to countries nearby like South Korea and Japan.

Two writers from different tells, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Matthew Lee in Hanoi, contributed to this story.