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G7

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Nara on Jan. 13. Once a central diplomatic actor, Japan is increasingly absent as global power rivalries intensify.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2026
The cost of silence: Japan’s diminishing relevance
This diplomatic fade is more than a temporary slump. Japan is experiencing a crisis of international relevance at precisely the moment when the rules-based order is fracturing.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi meets with his Swiss counterpart, Martin Pfister, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Japan should revitalize the OECD as a hub for middle powers, moving beyond the Group of Seven and Bretton Woods.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 23, 2026
After Davos, middle powers matter more than ever
Japan is well placed to act as a custodian of cooperation among countries that still depend on functioning markets but can no longer rely on a single guarantor.
Attendees at a Group of Seven finance ministers meeting pose for a photograph on Monday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 13, 2026
G7 finance ministers agree to address rare-earth supply issues quickly
The meeting came as China is tightening controls on rare earth exports to Japan and there are fears the impact of the Chinese measure may spread across the world.
China is the world’s dominant supplier of rare earths, helping Beijing last year counter punitive tariffs from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump by restricting their export.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2026
U.S. to host meeting on rare earths as China-Japan tensions simmer
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has said she would meet with counterparts from other industrialized democracies to discuss the rare earths during a trip to the U.S.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will urge Group of Seven and other nations to reduce reliance on Chinese critical minerals when the bloc meets on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 11, 2026
U.S. to push for quicker action in reducing reliance on China for rare earths
Aside from Japan, which took action after China abruptly cut off its ​critical minerals supplies in ‌2010, G7 members remain heavily dependent on critical minerals from China.
A mine containing rare earth minerals in China's Inner Mongolia province.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2026
Japan seeks support as fears rise over China’s rare earth grip
Tensions have continued to rise between Asia’s two biggest economies, dragging out a dispute that began in early November.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme’s fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show in Chiba in March 2023. Improving ties between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, have helped deepen Japan-Italy defense and security cooperation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2026
Takaichi-Meloni summit signals new era, stronger ties
Prime Minister Takaichi’s upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Meloni later this month will help mark 160 years of diplomatic ties and aim to strengthen bilateral relations.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand (center) leads a G7-plus session on maritime security during the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting at the White Oaks Resort in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2025
G7 diplomats mull how to get Russia to engage in Ukraine peace talks
Efforts to organize a summit between the presidents of Russia and the U.S. were put on ice last month after Moscow’s rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato meet in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2025
Japan’s Kato calls for G7 unity over China’s rare earth curbs
“Japan is deeply concerned about these measures,” Kato told reporters in Washington on Wednesday, referring to China’s latest trade measures.
Local residents walk across a bridge as smoke rises following Russian drone and missile strikes in Kyiv on Sept. 7.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 13, 2025
U.S. urges G7 and EU to impose tariffs on China and India over Russian oil
Washington is also calling for a legal pathway to seize immobilized sovereign Russian assets and using the principle of those assets to fund Ukraine’s defense.
BRICS leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (front row left), Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (second left), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center), Chinese Premier Li Qiang (second right) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov join hands during a group photo at the bloc's summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 8, 2025
BRICS fills soft-power vacuum as Trump-led U.S. retreats
The 10-nation BRICS grouping of major emerging economies has stepped up its efforts on issues such as AI, health care and climate change.
U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as he arrives at the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2025
Trump, the death of multilateralism and the ‘rise of the rest’
In the post-liberal order, the U.S. won’t act in allies’ interests unless they align with its own.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a speech at a reception hosted by the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo on Thursday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2025
Ishiba calls for expanding Japan-South Korea exchanges
The prime minister said he had very good discussions with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung when they met in Canada on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis in Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 18, 2025
South Korea’s Lee touts ‘inseparable’ Japan ties after Ishiba meeting
Seeking to ride the momentum that has pushed the neighbors closer following years of chilly ties, the pair also reaffirmed their commitment to trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
European Council President Antَnio Costa (from left to right), Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump and leader Minister Keir Starmer pose for a family photo during the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 18, 2025
Asia overshadowed as G7 struggles with crises and lack of unity
Mentions of China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific were conspicuously absent from the statements that emerged from the latest summit.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) and Indian leader Narendra Modi shake hands before posing for a photo during the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2025
India and Canada return ambassadors as Carney and Modi look past spat
Carney’s predecessor last year accused India of involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil and expelled the Indian envoy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a meeting with Group of Seven leaders during the bloc's annual summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2025
G7 abandons joint Ukraine statement as Zelenskyy says diplomacy in crisis
The Ukrainian president also did not get to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, with whom he hoped to talk to about acquiring more weapons.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to have a family photo taken at the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
G7 backs Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’ as Trump hastily leaves summit
In a tersely worded joint statement, the bloc labeled Iran a “principal source of regional instability.”
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, hold talks on Monday in Kananaskis, Canada.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
Japanese and Canadian leaders agree to enhance security ties
The prime ministers confirmed that their countries will sign early an agreement to share classified information.
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) speaks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
No breakthrough on tariffs at Ishiba-Trump meeting in Canada
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump met for 30 minutes on Monday during the annual Group of Seven gathering in Alberta.

Longform

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