Q: What will be discussed at the Summit?

A: The theme of the Summit is decided by the presidency-holding nation, which is also the host nation. As a result, one of the important themes of the 2005 Summit was aid for Africa, in which the United Kingdom has particular interest. At the Evian Summit in the mineral-water-exporting country of France, water-related problems were discussed.


Q: Does the presidency-holding nation take the liberty of making theme-related decisions itself?

A: No, of course it listens to the requests of the participating nations, but global-scale problems such as environmental destruction cannot be avoided. As a result, people known as "sherpas," who work as envoys for each country's head of state, gather several times to adjust the themes for discussion.


Q: What will be the themes at the Toyako Summit?

A: The Japanese government intends to present four themes: the main themes regarding the problems of climate change and aid for Africa, other themes such as the nuclear problem in North Korea, and economic problems such as those concerning intellectual property rights. Above all, the main theme will be climatic changes such as global warming. Prevention measures against global warming, like the international framework to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, are only covered until 2012 in the Kyoto Accord, and debate regarding the framework from 2013 has only just begun. Arguments have arisen regarding the subject of reduction obligations and the target values, and therefore the debates at the Summit will be the focus of much attention.


Q: How will the results of the discussions be put to use?

A: On the final day of the Summit, statements by the heads of state and the chairperson's summary will be announced. Until the 2001 Summit, this was done in the form of a communiqu? (joint statement), which served as the major powers' commitment to the world. However, because the summit is not an official organization, the announcements could not be enforced by international law, leading to their effectiveness being questioned.