Ajit Karn
Japan’s Foreign Yoshimasa Hayashi will probably Miss the G-20 meeting
According to a government official, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will probably Miss the G-20 meeting of foreign ministers scheduled to begin on Wednesday in favour of attending to parliamentary work.
According to the official, who requested anonymity in accordance with policy, it is still unknown whether he will attend a Friday gathering of the Quad countries, which also include Australia and the US along with India. The Nikkei newspaper and other Japanese media outlets covered the story previously. The reports indicated that a deputy minister would likely be sent in his stead.
It might irritate the Group of 20 host India to keep the foreign minister at home for a local issue. As concerns about China’s assertive behaviour in the region and Russia’s war in Ukraine increase, Japan is making the move as part of efforts to strengthen security and other ties with Narendra Modi’s administration.
As Japan gets ready to host the Group of Seven summit in May, the news drew criticism from lawmakers and the general public on social media. They claimed it was a missed chance to demonstrate leadership. When Modi visited Tokyo in September, he met with current premier Fumio Kishida and attended the official funeral for former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
The Kishida administration has made strengthening ties with India a top priority as it looks for allies other than its lone treaty ally, the US, to combat security threats presented by countries like China. A well-known structure for collaboration is the quad. As a rebuttal to Beijing, which has denounced the organisation as a “clique” that might ignite a new Cold War, it has gained prominence in recent years.
Additionally, public broadcaster NHK reported that Japan and India conducted their first joint military air exercises in January and that Kishida’s administration is making preparations to invite Australia and India to the G-7 summit in May to discuss topics like Ukraine, nuclear disarmament, and climate change.
Goshi Hosono, a lawmaker for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said on Twitter that the move was regrettable because it “means forfeiting an opportunity to emphasise the importance of the rule of law to the developing countries that participate in the G-20.”
Hosono, who formerly belonged to the opposition Democratic Party, added that such choices to favour diplomacy over legislation were frequently made in an effort to appease the dominant parties. According to Kyodo News, Hayashi had already scheduled some one-on-one meetings with some of his peers outside of the meeting.
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The choice not to attend would harm Japan’s foreign policy and give the false impression that Tokyo values only the G-7, according to an unnamed Indian government official quoted by the agency.
Later on Tuesday, Japan’s lower house of parliament is expected to approve the budget and send it up for debate in the upper house. The first meetings of the budget committee, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, are typically attended by all cabinet members.
