Japan Cabinet Office: "Maintaining the G7 Framework is Important"... No Mention of Whether Opposition to South Korea's Participation Was Conveyed to the US

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on the 29th that "it is very important to maintain the framework of the G7" regarding the plan to include South Korea in the Group of Seven (G7). This was a response to reports that the Japanese government opposed the United States' plan to expand the G7 summit to include South Korea, which emerged the day before.

According to NHK, Secretary Suga said at a regular briefing that "the format of the event is being discussed with the host country, the United States, and the G7 countries." He added that the final format would be coordinated with the United States and refrained from commenting further, stating that more detailed information was diplomatic in nature.

The day before, Kyodo News cited multiple US-Japan diplomatic sources reporting that senior Japanese government officials conveyed to the US government their opposition to South Korea's participation if the G7 were expanded. The Japanese government expressed concerns that South Korea's stance toward North Korea and China differs from that of the G7 and indicated that the current G7 framework should be maintained.

Regarding this, Secretary Suga did not confirm whether he supports or opposes South Korea's participation or whether such a position was communicated. However, considering that Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said immediately after the report, "It is very important to maintain the framework of the G7 itself. I think this is the consensus of the whole," it appears that the government is officially expressing a negative view of the G7 expansion plan without publicly naming any specific country.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced at the end of last month that he intended to postpone the G7 summit originally scheduled for this month to around September and expressed a desire to include South Korea. According to a Blue House statement, during a phone call with President Moon Jae-in on the 1st of this month, he said that the G7 is "an old system that does not reflect the current international situation" and that he is "considering expanding it to a G11 or G12 system."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.