TOKYO: The Japanese government plans to share weather observation data with Pacific island countries and regions to help them improve measures against disasters, informed sources have said.

Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio will announce the plan at the July 16-18 summit in Tokyo with Pacific island leaders, as part of Japan’s efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the Pacific region, according to the sources.

The Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, or PALM, is expected to adopt a joint statement calling for broad cooperation, including on security.

Under Japan’s initiative, the Pacific islands summit has been held every three years since 1997. The upcoming gathering will be the 10th and the first in person in six years. The previous meeting was held online amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders from 18 Pacific island countries and regions will attend the upcoming summit, which Kishida will co-chair.

At a time when Pacific islands are grappling with rising disaster risks associated with global warming, the Japanese government plans to provide the Japan Meteorological Agency’s observation data through the Michibiki quasi-zenith satellite network to help them better prepare for cyclones and tsunamis. The government will initially conduct a demonstration project in Fiji and expand the initiative to other areas.

Meanwhile, the government is considering providing defense equipment free of charge to Papua New Guinea and Tonga by adding them to the list of countries covered by Japan’s official security assistance.

Also at the islands summit, Kishida is expected to seek support from participants for the release into the ocean of tritium-containing treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

In recent years, China has been increasing its influence in the Pacific region through its support for infrastructure development. The Solomon Islands signed a security agreement with China in 2022, and Nauru severed ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China in January this year.

“This region is of great security importance,” a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. “We want to consolidate relationships of trust.”

JIJI Press