By Henry Hilton

Commentary Jul. 05, 2008 - 08:00AM JST ( 7 )

The international spotlight is now firmly on Japan. With the largest ever G-8 summit set to begin in Hokkaido on Monday, the next few days will inevitably be a testing period for the Japanese government. Like it or not, it has the task of playing host to world leaders, while being fully conscious that every decision taken or fudged will face the intense scrutiny of the global media.

Yet Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda might have saved himself and the nation’s taxpayers a great deal of trouble and expense if there had been an earlier agreement to chop these G-8 talkfests into more manageable affairs.

Instead, there has been a whole series of preparatory summits on almost every topic under the sun in different locations throughout Japan and this all prior to the mega-jamboree at Toyako. It would be interesting to get an official estimate after the event of the costs incurred in all these meetings from blanket security provisions to hotel accommodation in the seemingly fortress-like Windsor Hotel. Someone might also look into all the new CCTV gadgetry that is being installed on the subways and the inconvenience for Tokyoites of stop-and-search measures on their streets for a meeting that is to be held hundreds of miles away in a remote spot in Hokkaido.

The institutional history of the annual G-8 summits demonstrates that while the number of presidents and prime ministers in attendance keeps on growing (i is now eight plus one), dissatisfaction also increases. Each year, ever more states claim that they ought to be invited to this exclusive “Club Med” and each year, more countries arrive for portions of the talks.

Yet substantial reform appears as far off as ever. Those that are comfortably installed inside the tent tend to reckon that if any more get in, then the thing will collapse, while those eager for a party invitation grumble that they are already more than qualified for complete membership.

It’s a pretty hopeless situation. International prestige is obviously at stake with Japan having said that China should not become a fully-paid up member of what would then be a G-9 affair. Countries such as India also have good reason to complain that Canada and Italy don’t deserve to be at the bash since their economies hardly qualify in an era where the “BRICs” are outpacing older industrial states.

The original French idea behind what was initially a G-5 grouping stressed informal discussions and limited bureaucratic attendance. All that has long gone. The result now is that if we are not careful, the G-8 summits are going to resemble nothing more than a mini-United Nations where countries rehearse their set positions in a huge auditorium.

Fukuda would be doing everyone a big favor if he and his team of officials could somehow persuade the G-8 leaders to make a firm commitment to reducing the entire scale of future summits. We need smaller meetings and concerted discussion over the membership issue. Japan’s “Toyako initiative” should be to take the lead in inviting reform over both the organization and membership of future summits.