Azali Assoumani, the president of the Comoros, which is made up of just three islands off south-eastern Africa, has arrived in Hiroshima for the G7 summit.
Comoros was invited because it is the African Union's chair this year.
Normally, South Africa attends the meeting, but Japan has withdrawn South Africa due to its failure to impose sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
South Korea, Australia, India, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Cook Islands are among the eight other guest countries attending the Group of Seven wealthy democracies summit this week.
The Pacific Islands Forum has invited the Cook Islands to chair it, while Indonesia chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy by 2030, and it has already surpassed China in population.
South Korea is a prominent Asian economy and Japan's neighbour.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is a close commercial partner with China, but it has grown wary of its big neighbour since Beijing renewed a maritime conflict with it.
Countering China is the G7's most difficult assignment.
Then there's the Ukrainian conflict and the desire to include other countries in penalizing Russia for invading Ukraine for the second time.
That explains why Ukraine's president, Volodymr Zelenskyy, was a surprise guest at the gathering.
The group is made up of seven affluent democracies, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, as well as the European Union.
The invites to leaders from nations other than the G7 are intended to broaden collaboration.
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