G-7 leaders to hold videoconference to discuss coronavirus response

Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations will hold a videoconference Thursday to coordinate their response to the coronavirus pandemic, a Japanese government official said Wednesday.

At their most recent virtual summit in mid-March, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his counterparts vowed to “coordinate measures and do whatever it takes, using all policy tools” to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on the global economy.

(G-7 leaders’ videoconference on March 16)
[Photo courtesy of the Cabinet Secretariat]

The United States, this year’s G-7 chair, has canceled June’s in-person summit due to the pandemic, which has infected nearly 2 million people and killed more than 120,000 worldwide.

The G-7 members — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — have all been hit hard and are scrambling to contain the spread of infections, as well as shield their economies, as travel restrictions and lockdowns have seen commercial activity grind to a halt.

Abe last week declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures, asking residents to stay at home and nonessential businesses to temporarily close. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has expressed optimism that parts of his country could begin to “reopen” this month.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G-7 held their own videoconference on Tuesday, vowing to “do whatever is necessary to restore economic growth and protect jobs, businesses” while offering to defer debt payments for poor countries.