By: Gavin Thorne – SeaPRwire – The absence drew fire. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi missed a G7 leaders video conference early this month. Critics called the skip unexplained. On October 16 she gave her reason at the Upper House Budget Committee. The meeting time arrived too late. There was no window to debug the lines or finish equipment setup.
French President Macron called the session on October 2. The topic was the global energy market. Roughly ninety minutes before the start, around 8 p.m., Takaichi was still at dinner in the prime minister’s residence. She sat with LDP Vice President Taro Aso and other senior party figures. Constitutional Democratic Party lawmaker Kiyomi Tsujimoto asked whether the meal took priority. Takaichi rejected the charge. She said the dinner had no link to attendance. During the meeting window she was drafting her policy speech.
Takaichi added that the agenda concerned U.S.-Europe affairs. The notice stated a representative could sit in. Foreign Ministry counselor Endo attended in her place. She also noted that British Prime Minister Burnham did not appear in person and sent a substitute. European Council President Costa was likewise absent. Ministry of Foreign Affairs records show G7 online summits ran two times in 2023, four times in 2024 and once in 2025. Then-Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba attended every one.
Tsujimoto raised a further point. U.S. President Trump joined the call. A prime minister who chooses to stay away risks sidelining Japan, she said. The session, in her view, required personal presence. Earlier, on October 5, Takaichi posted on X that the meeting was temporary, arranged by chair France, and allowed a stand-in. She offered no detailed technical explanation at that time. Netizens had already questioned why free hours were not used for the link-up.
The committee exchange left the technical claim and the dinner timeline side by side. One side cites late notice and equipment limits. The other side cites the meal and the writing task. The representative sat in. The prior attendance record of earlier prime ministers remains on the books.
The next committee session will test whether the explanation holds.
Author bio: Gavin Thorne, political insider reporter based in Washington D.C., tracking executive decisions and military justice controversies for major outlets.