"The World and Japan" Database (Project Leader: TANAKA Akihiko)
Database of Japanese Politics and International Relations
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), The University of Tokyo

[Title] G7 Foreign Ministers Statement on the Jimmy Lai verdict in Hong Kong

[Place]
[Date] December 18, 2025
[Source] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
[Notes]
[Full text]

We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn the prosecution of Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong that has led to his guilty verdict on December 15, 2025. We continue to express our concerns about deteriorating rights, freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong. Freedom of expression and opinion, and media freedom, are enshrined in Hong Kong's Basic Law.

We call on the Hong Kong authorities to end such prosecutions and to release Jimmy Lai immediately.