Reason for Prime Minister Takaichi's absence from G7 "drinking party"? Government's explanation is vague, opposition party pursues

Opposition parties are intensifying their scrutiny of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's absence from a video conference of the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries. In addition to the vague explanations provided by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are suspicions that the reason for his absence was the dinner he had with Vice President Taro Aso and other senior Liberal Democratic Party leaders at the Prime Minister's official residence just before the meeting. It seems likely that the aim is to use him as a weapon to attack Kazuo Yan, the former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Prime Minister Takaichi absent from G7, Komei Okamoto representative ``angry'' Communist Party also demands explanation

"There are contradictions in the answers given by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Mogi. Which one is the truth?" Kiyomi Tsujimoto of the Constitutional Democratic Party pressed the government as follows at the House of Councilors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on October 27th.

The video conference was led by France, which holds this year's chair, after the Trump administration pressured Europe to release its diesel oil stockpiles. The meeting was held from 9:30 pm on October 2, Japan time, and Kazuya Endo, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, attended on his behalf. British Prime Minister Burnham was also absent.

When Prime Minister Takaichi was asked by Tsujimoto at the House of Councilors Budget Committee on the 16th, he explained, ``I was told (from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) that I could serve as his representative because the topic was an issue between the United States and Europe.'' Preparation was another reason, such as ``We are using a fairly large display'' and ``We had to call a contractor to connect the line, but we were running out of time.''

Meanwhile, Motegi emphasized that he was chosen as a substitute because it was expected that he would only speak once at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Regarding the display, he said, ``I am not even aware of the problem with the Prime Minister's office.'' If it is true that preparations were not made in time, a similar situation could occur if Japan becomes a party to an international conflict.

Tsujimoto also investigated the dinner he had with Liberal Democratic Party leaders just before the meeting. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yusuke Nakanishi did not explicitly say that he was "not aware" of whether the prime minister had been drinking. However, one meeting attendee admitted in an interview that ``the prime minister also drank alcohol.'' Mr. Tsujimoto suggested that this meeting might be the reason for his absence, but Mr. Mogi countered, saying, ``This is completely contrary to the facts.''