Press Conferences

Jiji Press, Echigo: It has been reported that the Japanese fishing boat that was seized by Russia off the coast of Wakkanai in Hokkaido, will depart from Russia today and return to Japan. Please tell us your current understanding of the facts of the matter.

Mr. YOSHIDA Tomoyuki, Press Secretary: I believe your question is about the No. 172 Eiho Maru, which was inspected and escorted by the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the waters east of Cape Soya.

I am aware of the reports with the content you mentioned in your question. Currently, we have a grasp of the situation but there are various matters we are confirming.

I am unable to say anything at present regarding matters such as the outlook for the ship’s return to port in Japan, which you asked about. Please understand that I cannot answer based on speculation.

Sankei Shimbun, Tamura: The G7 Summit will be held in the United Kingdom this week. In addition to the G7, the Republic of Korea (ROK), India, Australia, and South Africa have been invited. I believe that U.K. Prime Minister Johnson had previously spoken about the “D10” concept with democracies including the G7 as well as India, the ROK, and Australia. Does the Government of Japan have an evaluation or stance on this?

Press Secretary Yoshida: The G7 is a framework with an extremely long history and chronology. It is an initiative of meetings among developed countries that share fundamental values. The G7 involves countries that share fundamental values showing leadership with solidarity for which they hold discussions on how to respond to various global issues.

I am not aware of any current discussions being held on expanding or changing the members of the G7. We believe it is important for Japan to continue to respond to various matters within this framework.

The four countries you mentioned in your question were invited to participate as guest countries in the Cornwall Summit that will be held in the United Kingdom. Opportunities have been created up until now for the country holding the G7 Presidency to invite guest countries to hold exchanges of views with the G7 in accordance with topical issues. Japan also did this when it was the host country. Discussions will be held on particular themes during this Summit as well. We respect the initiative of the country holding the G7 Presidency regarding such efforts.