James Cleverly in Japan for G7 as UK tilts towards Pacific post-Brexit

James Cleverly has arrived in Japan for a G7 foreign ministers' summit to promote a "free and open" Indo-Pacific, as the UK government steps up its focus on the region after Brexit. The foreign secretary and his counterparts from countries including the US and France will hold high-level talks on closer security and defence ties in the face of China's growing assertiveness in the Pacific. The government's updated integrated review last month reinforced a post-Brexit "tilt" towards the region as a "permanent pillar" of British foreign policy to create a democratic counterweight to China. The visit comes after the French…