Fits like a glove: how Shinzo Abe has tailored the G7 programme to serve his ambitions at home
Infrastructure spending, maritime security and education programmes will be discussed at summit, linking serendipitously with host government’s agenda.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and fellow leaders of the G7 advanced economies began their summit yesterday by visiting Ise Shrine, the most hallowed site for Japan’s indigenous Shinto religion – one of many aspects of the gathering that dovetail with Abe’s long-term diplomatic and political agenda.
As host, Abe’s government has shaped the G7 programme to showcase his own political and economic platform, taking “leadership in guiding the world by showing the best path forward for peace and prosperity,” according to an agenda distributed by the Foreign Ministry.
We think Japan has demonstrated to the rest of the world what quality infrastructure is like
Before and during the second world war, Japan’s militarist government used the Shinto religion to rally the population behind its invasion of wide swaths of Asia. After Japan’s defeat, state Shinto was banned but the conservative prime minister has used it as a way to promote traditional cultural and social values.
Japanese officials said the intent was not to conduct any religious formalities at the shrine but to give the leaders a sense of “air, water, nature and atmosphere”.
“Ise is the place to present the beauty of nature and the richness of our culture and long tradition,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yasuhisa Kawamura.
The annual summit brings together the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. After the shrine visit they were due to hold a working luncheon and then tackle a wide range of global issues, starting with the sluggish global economy.
Many of the issues to be discussed are linked to Abe’s policy priorities. They include maritime security – code for concerns over China’s presence in the South China Sea – initiatives on global health, including funding for fighting terrorism and pandemics; and a focus on women’s empowerment, which Abe has promoted as “womenomics”.