Summit Mori's career high?

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Concluding the Group of Eight summit with a smile under the scorching sun, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori may boast he has cleared a key hurdle for his administration — but it is just one hurdle of many.

Indeed, a successful G8 summit was crucial both for the prime minister, who chaired a full-fledged international conference for the first time, and his fledgling administration, which was formed after last month's Lower House elections.

Mori's predecessor, the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who suffered a stroke in early April and died in mid-May, made the decision for Japan to host the G8 summit outside Tokyo for the first time. He had hoped the conference would be successful and would turn the world's attention to Okinawa, an area with a unique history and economy.