Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the Lower House Financial Affairs Committee on November 6 that her absence from the October 2 online summit of the Group of Seven leading economies was "a comprehensive judgment made after taking various factors into account," repeating the government's existing position. She was answering a question from Komeito's Mitsunari Okamoto.
Takaichi had said in the Upper House Budget Committee in October that the meeting's start time was set at short notice and that the administrative preparations could not be completed.
Okamoto noted that every G7 member other than Japan also belongs to NATO, and argued that for Japan the group is "the one and only greatest weapon." He questioned why she had stayed away.
In reply, the prime minister listed her recent meetings with foreign leaders and her upcoming overseas travel schedule. "With the free and open international order under strain, I am resolved to pursue a strong Japanese diplomacy," she said.
Okamoto rejected that answer. "It does not explain at all why you skipped the G7," he said.