Japan says U.S. mistakenly issues G7 statement on Russia

TOKYO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese foreign ministry on Wednesday denied a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' joint statement condemning Russia issued by the U.S. State Department, local media reported.

Japan did not issue such a statement and the ministry has communicated the apparent error to the U.S. State Department, said the ministry.

According to the ministry, the U.S. State Department mistakenly sent a G7 foreign ministers' statement, presumably from October 2022, to the press.

Multiple local media, including Kyodo News, retracted articles based on the erroneous statement on Wednesday evening.

Japan is the rotating chair of G7 this year and the G7 summit will be held in Hiroshima in May.