Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida drew the line that there was no discussion regarding the possibility of Korea’s participation in the G7. However, regarding the theory that Japan opposes Korea’s participation in the G7, he said it was ‘unfounded’.
According to the JoongAng Ilbo on the 15th, Prime Minister Kishida revealed this position in a conversation with Hong Seok-hyun, chairman of JoongAng Holdings, held at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Tokyo, Japan on the 11th of this month.
When Chairman Hong said, “There is a view in Korea that the United States is in favor of Korea entering the G7 and forming the G8 (eight major countries), but Japan opposes it.” We have never discussed it.”
At the same time, Prime Minister Kishida said, “The structure that the United States is in favor and Japan is against is not true.” However, he did not indicate that he would ‘welcome’ Korea’s joining the G7 or that he would promote it.
Launched in the 1970s as the G5, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, the current G7 became the G8 with Russia’s accession in 1997.
Then, in 2014, following Russia’s invasion and forcible annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine, it was maintained as the current G7 system due to ‘indefinite deprivation of membership status’.
It was in 2020, when former President Moon Jae-in was in office, that the possibility of expanding the G7, including Korea’s membership, was raised in earnest.
In particular, it is because then-U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that South Korea, Australia, and India be included in the G7, saying, “The current composition of the G7 is outdated.”
As a result, diplomats focused their attention on the possibility of the launch of the G10 (G7 + Korea, Australia, India) or G11 (G7 + Korea, Australia, India, Russia).
However, the G7 summit was not held that year due to the global epidemic of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). The following year, the G7 summit was held, but it did not lead to a full-fledged discussion on the agenda of expanding the consultative body.
Also, through Japanese media, there were reports that Japan, the first member of the G7 and the only member of the Asian region, took a ‘negative’ stance towards Korea’s joining the G7.
In the midst of this, some analyzes suggested that discussions between the leaders of the G7 expansion were taking place during the G7 summit to be held in Hiroshima, Japan on the 19th and 21st. It is an observation that the atmosphere of ‘good wind’ blowing in the improvement of Korea-Japan relations after the recent announcement of the Korean government’s solution to forced labor during the Japanese colonial period will also have an impact.
However, as can be seen from Prime Minister Kishida’s remarks this time, it seems difficult to make ‘rapid progress’ in related content because there has been no direct discussion of expansion between the G7 leaders.
An official from the presidential office also met with reporters the day before and said, “As of now, discussions on the G7 change are not underway.”
Since the G7 is not an organization created under a treaty or agreement, there are no stipulated conditions for membership. However, it can become a member state only through the consensus (unanimous agreement) process of other member countries.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.