The 2023 G7 Summit took place this weekend.  Dominating the coverage of the summit was a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the G7 leaders – and a tangible commitment of increased military support for Ukraine by the U.S. and other G7 countries.  With its position in the East China Sea, post-war democratic alliance with the West, and geographic position relative to China and Taiwan, a strategic focus has become more clear:  Japan will figure prominently in whatever the future holds for the region and the world.  Some of the more interesting, off-the-beaten-path headlines in the run-up to the Summit are summarized below – followed by the series of posts we did in the run up to the Summit, in an attempt to capture the situational awareness and strategic implications of the future of Japan.