Japan is planning to double its child-rearing support budget to tackle the country's declining birthrate, according to sources. The government aims to achieve this target during the first half of the 2030s by creating a new special account to unify budgets related to children and raising funds through measures including the curtailing of social security and insurance premiums and increased contributions from companies. Over a three-year period starting in fiscal 2024, Japan hopes to secure JPY3tn ($26.1bn) annually in additional funding. Measures could include the expansion of child allowances and an increase in monthly allowances for families with three or more children to JPY30,000 from the current JPY15,000. The government aims to double the budgets from the JPY4.8tn earmarked for child-related expenditure during the 2021-22 fiscal year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Hiroshima on Saturday for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, becoming the first non-G7 leader to attend face-to-face talks since the pandemic began. The visit is highly symbolic as G7 leaders advocate the abolition of nuclear arms. Zelenskyy will plead for weapons supplies and other supporting measures in order to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression. His visit comes in the wake of an announcement by the US that it would allow its allies to supply Ukraine with US-built F-16 fighter aircraft. This move, which Kyiv has long sought, comes as it is aiming to replace its ageing Soviet-era fleet. Zelenskyy views the move as a precursor to his plea for further support in his defence against the Russian “war machine”. Zelenskyy hopes to return to Kyiv with agreement from the G7 leaders and those invited as guests that they are solidly behind Ukraine's territorial gains in order to use these leverage in peace talks with the Russians.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised to send a message of peace to the world during this weekend’s G7 summit in Hiroshima. Kishida, who became prime minister last year, aimed to host the G7 summit in his home district as showcase for his commitment to nuclear arms control and disarmament. While the event itself was largely symbolic, Kishida managed to persuade the leaders from all the G7 nations to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, persuading them to spend significant time there. Although there was little in the way of concrete actions coming from the summit, Kishida’s deftness in persuading other leaders to adopt his position will have burnished his reputation at home and internationally.
The Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan has ended, with discussions centring around the Ukraine war, China’s growing dominance and support for the “Global South”. According to a communique, the G7 nations have agreed to support public-private initiatives to swerve China's “belt and road” initiative, to implement measures to counter state-backed “malicious cyber activities”, and to decarbonise energy systems by the end of the century. The G7 also signed a declaration committing to the protection of international maritime regulations, including the peaceful resolution of maritime disputes, navigation rights, and safety along sea lanes. G7 leaders expressed concern over the situation in the East and South China seas. The summit also saw the invitees from Indonesia, South Korea, India and Australia discuss issues such as Ebola, the impact of Brexit, terrorism and trade. President Zelenskyy of Ukraine was in the spotlight throughout the summit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's surprise attendance at the G7 summit in Hiroshima sparked a media frenzy, with reporters scrambling to get as close to him as possible during his brief visit. Though some journalists lamented not being able to ask the president a question, one reporter praised the opportunity as a career boost. “It’s so great you got to ask him a question!” a reporter from Taiwan said after she randomly grabbed my shoulder to get my attention. “That’s a huge advantage for your career.” Zelenskiy visited Hiroshima to lay flowers at the Atomic Bomb Memorial and focused on talks about nuclear disarmament, which dominated discussions during the G7 summit.
During his recent visit to Japan for the G7 summit, the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunek, extolled the virtues of Okonomiyaki, a savoury, Japanese pancake from Hiroshima. The dish is a hearty mix of cabbage, meat, batter and noodles that can be prepared in many different ways, sometimes by customers themselves. Okonomiyaki is an example of Japan's soul food and an important part of culinary tradition across the country. Despite the dish’s ubiquity, it is also a source of regional pride and often triggers heated debates among foodies across the country. Restaurants in Hiroshima and Osaka, for examples, have their own distinct methods of mixing and layering ingredients. While in Hiroshima, Sunek tried the layered variety, which was reportedly different from the styles that the Prime Minster had already tried in Tokyo and Osaka. Sunek reportedly toasted the culinary traditions of Hiroshima and said he particularly enjoyed Okonomiyaki while on his visit. Around 800 Okonomiyaki restaurants exist in Hiroshima, ensuring that visitors to the city have access to a great range of interpretations of this culinary classic.
A leading campaigner for nuclear disarmament, Setsuko Thurlow, has condemned the Group of Seven nations’ summit as a "huge failure" after the leaders released a statement backing existing nonproliferation policy. The three-day Japanese conference was designed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to support a "world without nuclear weapons." Thurlow, who supports the nuclear-ban treaty, said the statement was "blasphemy against atomic bomb survivors." In the document, the leaders, including nuclear states such as the US, France and Britain, promised to "maintain and create a global environment in which all countries fully observe relevant international law" but did not outline specific new ideas for disarmament. The statement was issued on the same day as the G7 leaders visited Hiroshima’s Peace Park and the museum. Thurlow was 13 when an atomic bomb destroyed her home city of Hiroshima in 1945, and eight of her relatives were killed. She has since given over 2,000 speeches promoting disarmament and has supported the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
China has warned operators of key infrastructure against buying US-based Micron Technology's goods, claiming cybersecurity risks were identified in the products and could affect national security. The move comes amid escalating tensions over semiconductor trade between China and the US, and follows a month-long Chinese investigation into the US's largest memory-chip maker. Shares for Micron's most significant industry rivals, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, increased in Seoul, while Chinese chip stocks, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. and Hua Hong Semiconductor, rose more than 3% in Hong Kong. Analysts suggest the decision will have a small impact on Micron, as most of its memory chips sold in China are used in consumer electronics rather than data centres and cloud computing.
Leaders from eight countries not part of the Group of Seven (G7), including India, Australia, Brazil and South Korea, have visited Hiroshima's peace museum and memorial near the site of the world’s first atomic bombing, following a similar visit by the leaders of the G7 countries on Friday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first leader of India, which possesses nuclear weapons, to visit Hiroshima since India tested a nuclear bomb in 1974. India has continued to increase its stockpile of nuclear warheads and is one of just four UN members not to have signed the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The visits come as the Japanese host of the three-day event wishes to make a “world without nuclear weapons” a key theme.
Japan's Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida is expected to call a snap election soon based on his popularity, which surged after he held a successful Group of Seven summit that received an unexpected visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as being seen to be handling other global issues. He will capitalize on his support rates which have risen by 9 percentage points in several polls since the G7 summit. Although he said he is not thinking of dissolving parliament now, he may not resist with the favorable conditions stacking up to do so.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may opt for a snap election as he enjoys a rise in popularity, spurred on by recent social and political developments, including the improvement in relations with South Korea, the G7 summit in Hiroshima and Kishida’s nuclear position, according to Professor Hiromi Murakami, from Tokyo Campus of Temple University. The prime minister is basking in a public support rate of 46.6% and Murakami warns that in an unpredictable political landscape, it may be wise to take advantage of this support before it is disrupted by circumstances.
Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has ruled out raising taxes to fund a planned increase in child care spending aimed at tackling the country's falling birth rate. The doubling of Japan’s child policy budget is expected to be set for the early 2030s. If the government doubles the current state budget, it is estimated that an additional ¥5tn ($36bn) a year will be required, and there have been concerns about where the funding will come from as Japan's fiscal health is already worse than other developed nations. Kishida has suggested that the government needs to review its spending in another area to make the economy stronger and robust, so for the public, the burden of the funding for this scheme can be reduced.
