Press Conference by Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru Regarding His Attendance at the G7 Kananaskis Summit and Other Matters

[Opening statement by Prime Minister Ishiba]

Thank you for waiting. Now, having finished participating in the G7 Kananaskis Summit, I would like to share my thoughts with you briefly. 

This year marks 50 years since the G7 was inaugurated. During the East-West Cold War, when the global economy had been thrown into the most serious inflationary recession of the post-war period, then-Prime Minister MIKI Takeo attended the Rambouillet Summit in France, the precursor to the G7 summit. Exactly half a century has passed since then.* That period is said to have been a major turning point in history. It was this summit that attempted to overcome the challenges of the day through democratic means and international cooperation.

Since then, dramatic changes have taken place in both the global situation and the regional environment surrounding Japan. Throughout that time, the G7, connected through their shared values such as freedom and democracy, has contributed over many years indeed to both global peace and stability as well as stability and prosperity around the world. The G7 has worked together, acting in collaboration to overcome differences in member states' positions to address issues that have emerged with the trends of the times. For this reason, I regard the value of the G7 as quite apparent. As the sole Asian G7 member country, Japan has also had the important role of reflecting into the G7's discussions the voice of Asia and the realities of Asia. 

The world now stands at a new turning point. Against that backdrop, at this summit, we acted in unity as the G7, coordinating our responses to such critical issues as increasing global economic uncertainty, a rapidly deteriorating situation in the Middle East, and the Ukraine situation. I consider it a major achievement that we issued the G7 Leaders’ statement on recent developments between Israel and Iran as well as individual joint statements for each of six fields. I would like to express once again my sincere respect to Prime Minister Carney of Canada for the leadership he demonstrated in chairing this summit.

The first major issue that the G7 discussed at this summit was responses to global economic uncertainty.

With the importance of addressing economic security challenges increasing dramatically, it is imperative for the G7, which has served as the vigorous driving force of the global economy over the years, to unite in taking a leading role in tackling various issues impacting the global economy. I succeeded in holding this shared awareness of the issues with the other national leaders at the summit.

We were of the same mind in our recognition that enhancing the resilience and diversification of our supply chains for critical goods, including for critical minerals, is absolutely indispensable for the economic prosperity of both the G7 member nations and our partner countries. With regard to ensuring the stable supply of energy and critical minerals, we were fully in accord regarding the importance of investment in high-quality infrastructure, which Japan has taken the initiative in advocating. We also agreed on the importance of mobilizing private-sector funding and the necessity of addressing debt issues burdening developing countries.

The second major topic we took up was the international situation.

The leaders had an extremely candid discussion on the state of affairs in the Middle East, which is abruptly deteriorating; the situation is worsening rapidly. I emphasized the importance of diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation and stated that it is absolutely unacceptable for Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Beyond that, we confirmed the importance of resolving the nuclear issue through consultations. With regard to the situation in Gaza, I stated we absolutely cannot overlook or disregard the loss of so many lives, including the lives of civilians. I also underscored Japan's position that we must strongly urge all parties to return to negotiations and work faithfully towards the continuation of the agreement on the ceasefire and the release of hostages, without resorting to military means.

As for the situation in Ukraine, during the summit we held frank discussions over the course of two days, including a session attended by President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and NATO Secretary General Rutte. We confirmed that, in order to bring about an early comprehensive ceasefire and realize a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, it is critical to have Russia take forward-looking, concrete actions swiftly and that ongoing G7 unity on this matter continues to be of the essence. I particularly emphasized that the way peace is achieved has the potential to affect the international order as a whole, including the Indo-Pacific, and that it will be critically important to build a framework for peace that deters future aggression.

I also underlined the importance of the G7 having greater engagement in the Indo-Pacific. We were in full agreement that the G7 will work together in addressing various outstanding issues of concern with regard to China. I once again shared my concerns over North Korea's nuclear and missile issues and the need for an immediate resolution to the abduction issue, and we reaffirmed that the G7 will cooperate to address issues including cryptocurrency theft, which is a means of funding North Korea's nuclear and missile activities.

Our third major topic was emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technology. In particular, we succeeded in releasing a common vision regarding quantum fields, which will be key in social, economic, and industrial development and are becoming increasingly important in terms of security. By doing so, we set forth for the first time a direction for G7 cooperation in this area. Grounded in this vision, the G7 will unite in leading the development of quantum technologies.

The fourth major topic we took up was responses to wildfires. This year, Japan also experienced numerous wildfires, including in the city of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture. Here in Canada, wildfires are raging at this very moment, with a state of emergency declaration issued and many people forced to evacuate. Wildfires are now a problem that should be addressed at a global scale.

At this summit, the G7 issued the Wildfire Charter to promote information sharing and international cooperation across the three phases of wildfire prevention, response, and recovery. Japan, aspiring to be the world's foremost leader in disaster management, intends to make use of our knowledge and technologies to address wildfires and natural disasters within the G7 and in the international community at large.  

I also held bilateral meetings with approximately six countries during this same period, running parallel to the G7 discussions on these major themes.

First of all, in my summit meeting with President Trump of the United States of America, we reaffirmed that our countries will further reinforce the Japan-U.S. Alliance to promote a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and contribute to the peace and stability of the world to an even greater extent.

President Trump and I had a candid discussion regarding the series of tariff measures imposed by the United States and agreed to direct our ministers in charge to advance discussions further. 

Japan will continue to firmly uphold our national interests as we assertively advance coordination between Japan and the United States so that we are able to achieve an agreement that is mutually beneficial to both sides.

I held my first face-to-face summit meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Carney, who chaired the G7 Summit. In our meeting, in the area of security, we agreed on signing at an early date the Agreement on the Security of Information and the Agreement concerning Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, both of which reached agreement in principle earlier this year. We confirmed progress in our bilateral economic cooperation, including the LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Canada project, in which Japanese companies are involved.

I also held my first face-to-face summit meeting with President Lee Jae Myung of the Republic of Korea (ROK), and we agreed to promote close communication between our two governments towards the stable development of Japan-ROK relations, under our leadership. We also reaffirmed that we will continue to work closely together, both bilaterally between Japan and the ROK, as well as trilaterally among Japan, the ROK, and the United States, regarding our responses to North Korea, including on the nuclear and missile issues and the abduction issue.

I also held summit meetings with the leaders of Germany, Australia, and Ukraine and had informal talks with all of the national leaders and heads of international organizations. We reaffirmed that we will work together to uphold and reinforce the free and open international order based on the rule of law.

Through this summit, I succeeded in building personal relationships of trust with my counterparts, including with those I met in person for the first time. I intend to continue to utilize various diplomatic engagements to actively pursue summit diplomacy. In particular, with Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan taking place this year, I have held face-to-face summit meetings with counterparts from nearly 40 countries since the start of the year. I am committed to listening carefully to the views of national leaders from every corner of the world and engaging in meaningful communication with them.

Next week, from June 24 to 26, I plan to visit The Hague in the Netherlands and attend the NATO Summit. I will continue to do my utmost to pursue diplomacy in a manner that deepens multilayered cooperation with our allies and with like-minded countries, including the United States of America, while fully safeguarding Japan's independence and peace and protecting the daily lives of the Japanese people.  

I will end my opening statement here.

*Note: Here, Prime Minister Ishiba said "half a year," but he intended to say "half a century." The transcript has been edited to reflect the intended meaning.