The UK's Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, will sign the "Hiroshima Accord" with Japan when he visits Tokyo ahead of the G7 meeting. This accord involves the UK extending its defence cooperation with Japan to uphold stability in the Indo-Pacific, as concerns grow over alleged warmongering from China. In addition, the two countries will launch a partnership on semiconductors, working together on research and development to help the West keep ahead of the game. Arriving in Tokyo on Thursday, the Prime Minister will visit a naval base, confirm new UK-Japan defence cooperation and launch a set of science and technology programmes to support UK-Japan collaboration. As part of the defence agreements under the Hiroshima Accord, the Prime Minister is expected to agree a new Cyber Partnership with Japan. This will deepen UK-Japan cooperation on cyber and set a high level of ambition for the future relationship. The UK will also unveil a new Renewable Energy Partnership, aimed at accelerating the deployment of clean energy in the UK, Japan and third countries.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will sign the "Hiroshima Accord" with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to increase defence cooperation between the two nations to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific, ahead of a G7 meeting.
Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries are to meet and discuss the global economy this week at the annual G7 summit in Japan. However, the US’ nearing debt default of two weeks may be cause for concern. President Joe Biden hopes to promote an optimistic tone after the White House sent two special aids to negotiate with Republicans to raise the debt. Upcoming discussions are also set to focus on Ukraine and China. European allies are pressing the US administration to give American-made F-16 jets to Ukraine after gaining territory around the city of Bakhmut. Nevertheless, the Biden administration is worried about escalating the situation and the potential costs and time issues that would arise. Discussions on China will focus on handling the threat of its economic, technological and military rise. The summit will also include talks on how to stabilise the global economy and limit devaluations of currencies.
The White House has defended Joe Biden's decision to cut short his tour of Asia to resolve the debt-ceiling standoff with Republicans. The US president's meetings with Pacific island leaders and attendance at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue summit in Sydney were both put on hold while he returned to Washington, leading to accusations that it benefitted China. White House adviser Jake Sullivan, while en route to Japan, said that the postponed work could be "done at a later date," but the negotiations over the debt limit and budget could not be put off.
The first summit meeting between China and the leaders of five Central Asian countries will take place this week, following G7 meetings in Hiroshima this week. Chinese Premier, Xi Jinping will host the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Xi'an, with a joint declaration of cooperation to be signed. This is the first meeting since China and the five countries established diplomatic ties in 1992.
The UK and Japan are set to deepen their security ties and sign a new accord called the "Hiroshima Accord," covering areas such as defence, trade and investment, science and technology, and joint initiatives to tackle global issues such as climate change. As part of the deal, the UK, which is looking to deepen relationships with countries outside Europe after leaving the EU, has committed to deploying an aircraft carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific in 2025. The two countries will also agree on a formal "Consult Clause," while trade and investment as well as science and technology programmes will be supported under the agreement.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, has met with top executives, including senior representatives from Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, amongst others, ahead of the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in Hiroshima to discuss additional investment from global chipmakers into Japan and the G7 leaders’ discussion on stabilising supply chains.
Leaders of the G7 countries – the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Canada – face several challenges as they gather in Hiroshima. The global economic outlook is unstable, while Russia continues its actions in Ukraine and China expands its economic and strategic growth. The G7 will need to address several issues, including enlisting middle countries such as those in Africa, and addressing China without creating undue confusion. Moreover, with concerns around nuclear proliferation and use re-emerging, the monitoring architecture of nuclear arsenals needs to be maintained to avoid future use of nuclear weapons. Finally, as global temperatures continue to rise and heatwaves become deadlier, coordinated responses and the regulation of cryptocurrency will become increasingly important.
Micron Technology will receive about $1.48bn in government financial incentive funding to help develop its advanced memory chip-making capabilities in Japan. The funding is expected to be announced when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with chipmaker executives on Thursday. Micron will use the funding to add advanced chip-making equipment, from ASML, to its Hiroshima facility so it can fabricate DRAM memory chips. The funding is part of Japan's wider strategy to counter China's strong position in advanced technology development. Micron has not commented on the reports.
Micron Technology is set to receive around $1.5bn in government incentives from Japan to manufacture next-gen memory chips. The company intends to use the cash, which will mark the arrival of EUV equipment to the country for the first time, to introduce a facility to fabricate DRAM chips with plans to launch the more advanced one-gamma production in late 2024. The incentives form part of Japan's move to bolster domestic semiconductor production, something that would provide a backup to Taiwan amid growing tensions between China and the US. Mini-app Rapidus, meanwhile, plans to make 2-nanometer chips by 2027.
Explosions were reported in central and southern Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, on Thursday after air raid sirens sounded across the country. Missile attacks in central Vinnytsia and the death of one person in a strike on an industrial facility in Odesa were among other incidents reported. China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, has confirmed there is no remedy to the conflict and called for Kyiv and Moscow to engage in talks to end the war. Meanwhile, Joseph Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, called for the amount allocated for military aid for Ukraine to be raised by $3.85bn.
The G7 will meet in Japan and there are increasing expectations that the group will tighten economic sanctions against Russia. Despite the reality that sanctions have affected Russia with a heavy toll, it is widely believed they have not succeeded in their geopolitical aims. The sanctions have instead driven Russia deeper into the embrace of emerging-market nations such as China, India and Turkey, providing leverage for Russian foreign policy and making a nonsense of western compliance efforts. There is even wider concern related to the potential that sanctions could collapse an already weak global economy. The EU has also recently announced that it was considering penalties for EU firms that help Russia evade western sanctions, such as providing financing, investing in sanctioned sectors, or sharing technologies that could aid the energy sector.
The Group of Seven countries and the European Union will meet in the western Japanese city of Hiroshima next week. As well as the Ukraine war and the growing dominance of China and the threat to Taiwan, issues surrounding supply chains, economic and energy security are set to be discussed. Several Asia-Pacific countries, including India, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam and Australia, will be joining the group. Additionally, the attendance of India is likely to highlight developing nations.
Leaders from the EU, Germany, France and Italy are set to join the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where tensions surrounding China are expected to dominate. While the thread linking the issues of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific tensions and the promotion of free market policies on trade is Beijing, negotiations are likely to be tricky; European officials are wary of directly anti-Chinese language, believing engagement with China is the smarter way to address the issue and cautious of creating more of a “west vs rest” global picture. Developing and emerging countries have also reportedly expressed concern that the G7 is focused too heavily on Ukraine and not enough on their needs and priorities.
Before the EU elections next June, Brussels lawmakers are bracing themselves for the mountain of legislation they have to get through, which includes around 200 files still open for approval by MEPs and member states, as well as proposals yet to be presented. With just over a year to go until the European Parliament votes again, including on rules relating to the digital euro and transparency requirements for NGOs, Brussels’ consensus on the new laws’ priority runs the risk of limiting progress on key environmental legislation. Proposals such as the new rules on healthy soils and genomic techniques for plants have already been been delayed or dropped from the commission agenda, to the alarm of EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who has warned the EU would struggle to absorb more environmental laws.
Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet privately to discuss a range of issues, including strengthening cooperation between their countries, at the G7 summit cycle, a gathering of major industrialised nations, with Kishida keen to discuss deterrence and response capability for China’s Indo-Pacific assertiveness. With China claiming Taiwan should be under its rule, discussing efforts to respond to nuclear threats from North Korea may pose a diplomatically difficult path of discussion for the Japanese prime minister, who comes from Hiroshima, where the US dropped the first nuclear bomb in 1945.
Ukraine's President Zelensky has secured weapons deals and support from several European leaders on a recent trip. In Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a €2.7bn ($2.9bn) support package, which includes aircraft-defence systems, tanks, and more than 200 surveillance drones. Germany's largest arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall, will form a joint venture with Ukraine's Ukroboronprom to repair and eventually manufacture tanks. Emmanuel Macron, French president, promised to train and equip battalions and boost Ukraine's air defences, and the UK will supply Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles, air-defence missiles, and armed drones with a range of more than 200 km.
Leaders from seven of the world's wealthiest democracies and the EU are meeting at this year's Group of Seven (G7) summit, which kicked off on Friday in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The talks are expected to cover tensions in the Asia-Pacific following the exclusion of China from the summit, with much of the early attention focused on growing fears over North Korea's nuclear programme. The situation in Ukraine and Britain's EU referendum will also feature on the summit’s agenda.
President Joe Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Hiroshima and delivered a speech emphasizing the importance of allies standing together to make the world a safer place. The two leaders also discussed US support for Japan's plans to hold a delayed Tokyo Olympics next year, as well as US investment in Japan and Hiroshima, including from US chipmaker Micron Technology.
Toyota’s Chief Scientist has warned that transitioning too quickly to electric vehicles could lead drivers to hold on to old petrol cars and has called for hybrids to be extended in use ahead of the G7 leaders summit in Japan. While subsidies and restrictions help to make EVs attractive to those who can afford them, gas-electric vehicles remain more suitable for other drivers. Toyota’s approach has been criticised as it has taken too long to become fully electric, letting Tesla and China’s BYD take the lead in the EV market.
Leaders of the G7 countries will debate how to trace the Russian diamond trade during the G7 summit in Hiroshima this week with the aim of imposing restrictions at a later stage, according to an EU official. However, the official does not anticipate an agreement on this at the event. While some European states support diamond sanctions on Russia for its hostilities towards Ukraine, Belgium, home to the world's largest diamond trading market in Antwerp, is opposed. India has also not backed Western sanctions on Russia, despite the prime minister being invited to attend the G7 summit.
