With less than a month until the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, senior Japanese diplomat Keiichi Ono has been intensifying preparations with other countries as a "sherpa," to lead the three-day meeting from May 19 to success.

Similar to the famed Sherpa guides of Nepal who help climbers scale the Himalayas, sherpas serve as personal assistants to the G7 leaders and play key roles in ensuring the success of the summits.

In preparation for the summits, sherpas hold multiple conferences from the beginning of the year, to allow adequate time for leaders to deepen discussions and reach agreements.