Tokyo: Japan will not invite non-G7 countries to the upcoming G7 foreign ministers summit, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
“Indeed, there have been cases when some countries outside the G7 have been invited to the G7 foreign ministers summit, but this year Japanese Foreign Minister [Yoshimasa] Hayashi would like to have more in-depth discussions among the members of the G7 itself. Therefore, we do not invite any countries outside the G7 to the foreign ministers summit in Karuizawa,” a spokesman of the ministry told a briefing.
The ministerial meeting will run from April 16-18 in the Japanese resort city of Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture.
This year, the G7 presidency is assumed by Japan. Its key summit will be the first one hosted by Prime Minster Fumio Kishida. The summit will take place over three days from May 19 in the city of Hiroshima, the prime minister’s constituency.