Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Responding to the White House clash between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Japanese Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru told Japanese media that the G7, a group of the world’s most advanced economies, need to maintain their unity.

“We will make every effort to maintain the unity of the G7,” he said. He described the White House confrontation as “a somewhat unexpected development and a fairly emotional exchange.”

Emphasizing the need for compassion in diplomacy, he said, “To maximize the benefits of each side, patience and understanding will also be necessary. Diplomacy backed by such compassion and patience should be deployed in the future to achieve peace.” 

Prime Minister Ishiba stressed that Japan, as a member of the G7, must play a crucial role in preventing division between the United States, Ukraine, and the Group of Seven nations.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi said earlier that Japan would monitor the situation “with grave concern” to try and realize a just and lasting peace as soon as possible.

The G7 comprises the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the European Union.

TAKAHASHI Kosuke, writing for the online magazine “The Diplomat,” accused Trump of arrogance and pointed out that US aid to Ukraine benefits the United States.

“There is something the international community must not forget,” he wrote. “Most US aid to Ukraine is spent within the US or on the US military. According to a study released in May 2024 by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, of the $175 billion in aid the United States has provided to Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, approximately 70 percent was spent within the United States or on the US military.”

Trump’s claim that the United States is investing much more money in the Ukraine war than European countries is also incorrect, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German economic think tank. It says the total amount of aid provided to Ukraine during the war by the European Union and European countries by December 2024 is approximately $258 billion, far exceeding the $124 billion provided by the United States.

Not all Japanese commentators criticized Trump. Politician SUZUKI Muneo, who has close ties with Russia, said Zelensky’s remarks were “self-serving” and revealed his lack of political experience. “This exchange confirmed that President Trump is unwaveringly peace-oriented,” Suzuki wrote on his blog. “Unlike the previous administration, President Trump has declared his strong desire for peace.”

Professor OKABE Yoshihiko Okabe of Kobe Gakuin University hinted that the White House clash was a setup. “Standing directly behind [Vice President JD] Vance was Brian Grein of the podcast program ‘Real American’s Voice, who asked the question. He is also said to be the boyfriend of Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, a conspiracy theorist and ardent Trump supporter. I felt that this was a good example of how the type of ‘reporter’ there is affects the atmosphere of the place.”

Doshisha University’s Professor MIMAKI Seiko Mimaki agreed. “The Trump administration has overturned decades of principles by depriving the White House Correspondents Association of the right to cover the Oval Office, and instead said the administration would select the reporters who would cover the office.”

The impact of banning reporters who don’t side with Trump is having an effect, he says. “Criticism of Zelensky has intensified significantly among Republican supporters, and more people are sympathetic to the view that ‘Ukraine started the war’ and ‘Ukraine is the reason the war will not end.’ Even Republican lawmakers who have been calling for support for Ukraine have deleted photos of their meetings with Zelensky from social media for fear of being criticized by Trump.”

Toru Hashimoto, a lawyer and former mayor of Osaka, who gave a “realistic approach saying, stated, “If we cannot achieve an overwhelming military victory, then the only solution is a political one. I believe that if Western countries, including Europe and Japan, say they will stand with Ukraine and support it, then they need to be properly prepared to fight Russia and say that they are standing with Ukraine. Otherwise, it would be extremely irresponsible.”