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Tokyo/ AFP
The lacklustre global economy should take centre stage as world leaders gather in Japan this week, but with no agreement likely on igniting growth, Barack Obama’s visit to the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima looks set to capture the limelight.
A gathering Chinese slowdown, weak oil prices and the looming threat of Britain’s exit from the European Union will provide the backdrop for the meeting of the Group of Seven.
Waiting in the wings for the club of rich democracies is the familiar litany of problems: terrorism, the disintegrating states of the Middle East and Europe’s refugee crisis.
Each member of the G7 will bring their own issues and their own solutions to the gathering at Ise-Shima, 300 kilometres (200 miles) southwest of Tokyo.
But differences on how to breathe life into the world economy—whether to boost spending, as favoured by hosts Japan, or to follow Germany’s prescription and cut debt—mean a unified response is unlikely to emerge.
“The reality is the global economy is weak, uncertain and unbalanced,” said Matthew Goodman, senior adviser for Asian economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“And so that’s their really top issue… how to get growth going.”
A weekend meeting of G7 finance and central bank chiefs in Japan could only agree that individual nations should act in their own best interest, highlighting the difficulties they face in forging policy consensus.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the summit host, has struggled to jump-start his own economy after more than three years in office.
That’s despite a kit of unconventional policy tools including unprecedented easing and a negative interest rate that has also been tried by the European Central Bank.
Abe reached out to European peers to join together in increasing fiscal spending as a way to boost growth—only to get the cold shoulder from Germany and Britain, who favour austerity.
Heavy with symbolism
The gathering will find easier consensus in geopolitical issues, such as the fight against terrorism.
That charge will be led by France’s President Francois Hollande, whose country was the victim of a series of deadly extremist attacks last year.
Finance ministers last weekend agreed to boost cooperation in cracking down on the financial networks that support extremists.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is likely to push for concerted action to stem the tide of refugees fleeing conflict in Africa and the Middle East.
“These are problems that can only be solved by the international community together,” a German government source said. “It’s a collective responsibility.”
But the limitations of the exclusive club—the US, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan—will once again be laid bare.
Japan on high-alert over terror threat
Tokyo/ AFP
Japan is on high-alert ahead of a Group of Seven summit with thousands of police on the streets of Tokyo and fanning out across the country as authorities boost security to unprecedented levels.
The annual event, which takes place on Thursday and Friday, draws leaders from some of the world’s richest nations, including US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Host Japan said it is taking no chances in the wake of the Paris and Brussels terror attacks, and Fukushima’s operator said on Tuesday that work at the crippled nuclear plant would be suspended during the talks.
Up to 70,000 police are being deployed before the two-day meeting of the club of rich nations, with about one-third of the officers headed to Ise-Shima, an area between Tokyo and Osaka that is hosting the event.
Thousands of other police will be on hand in Hiroshima when US President Barack Obama makes an historic visit to the atomic-bombed city on Friday, the National Police Agency said.