Japan Foreign Minister Set to Attend Quad Talks Hosted by India

Jon Herskovitz
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is set to attend a get together of top diplomats from the so-called Quad nations hosted by India, after he skipped a G-20 meeting in New Delhi to be present at a parliamentary committee in Tokyo.

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Hayashi gained parliamentary approval allowing him to attend a Friday meeting of Quad nations that also includes the US and Australia, Kyodo News reported. Japan dispatched a vice minister to attend the G-20 meeting of foreign ministers in India that started Wednesday.

A committee in Japan’s upper house of parliament began debate Wednesday on the budget. All members of the cabinet are customarily present for the initial sessions of the budget committee, which is planned to run for two days.

Hayashi became the first Japanese foreign minister to miss a G-20 meeting of his counterparts, Kyodo reported, saying he only spoke for 53 seconds during the parliament session he was obliged to attend.

Hayashi had said Japan would “diligently participate” in the diplomatic events abroad when he faced questions from reporters Tuesday over whether keeping the foreign minister at home for a domestic matter could be seen as a slight to India. Japan has been seeking to bolster security and other ties with Narendra Modi’s government amid growing concerns about China’s assertive behavior in the region, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The decision not to dispatch the foreign minister to the G-20 meeting may have been more about internal politics in Japan, as opposed to sending any diplomatic message. Hayashi had already arranged bilateral discussions with some of his counterparts on the sidelines of the meeting, Kyodo previously reported.

Read: Top Japan Diplomat Set to Skip G-20 Talks Hosted by India (2)

Bolstering ties with India has been a priority for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government as it seeks partners beyond its sole treaty ally, the US, to counter security threats posed by the likes of China. The Quad is a prominent format for cooperation. It has grown in stature in recent years as a counter to Beijing, which has criticized the group as a “clique” that could stoke a new Cold War.

--With assistance from Isabel Reynolds.

(Updates with report on Hayashi in parliament.)

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