News Japan criticised for G20 absence

At the seven-hour meeting on Wednesday, Hayashi answered one question, for a total of 53 seconds, on the subject of the loneliness faced by Japanese overseas. A pressing issue, perhaps, but hardly one on the level of Ukraine or the threat of China's incursions into territories that now includes US airspace. The G-20 snub, as it will be seen, comes at a time when Tokyo's presence at such meetings could hardly be more vital. Japan is the host of the Group of Seven summits this year in Hiroshima, and its geopolitical importance is surging as it looks to boost defence spending in line with plans by the US and allies to build a diplomatic bulwark against China. [...] To be clear, this isn't Hayashi's fault. The requirement for ministers to attend budget committees and other meetings is simply the way things have always been done. The constitution compels ministers to appear in parliament "when their presence is required to give answers or explanations." But how that is administered is largely a matter of tradition rather than written rules, with customers in the past broken only for hospitalizations. Four members of the Cabinet who attended all seven hours of Wednesday's meeting weren't asked a single question.

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Lothor said:

The loneliness of Japanese expats?!

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