Four years ago, in July 1996, I suggested in an opinion piece for the Sankei Shimbun that the Group of Eight summit in 2000 be held in Okinawa.
Although I was the special adviser on Okinawa affairs in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, I had opportunities to talk to the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi before his death regarding Okinawa issues. But his an- nouncement in April 1999 that the 2000 summit would be held in Okinawa came as a complete surprise to me.
The boldness of Obuchi's decision should not be overlooked. The past two G7 or G8 summits in Japan were held in Tokyo. He went against the wishes of bureaucrats — who were not pleased at the thought of working in a faraway place — and the recommendations of his security officials, who felt they lacked the resources to protect an island conference site.