Kim Hjelmgaard

USA TODAY

World leaders were expected to call for a more coordinated response to the creaky global economy, as they began two days of Group of Seven talks in Japan.

“We’ve all got a lot of work to do and we agreed to continue to focus on making sure that each country, based on its particular needs and capacities, is taking steps to accelerate growth,” President Obama told reporters Thursday in between meetings at the G-7 summit in Ise-Shima, a national parks area a few hundred miles southwest of Tokyo known for its indigenous Shinto religion shrines.

What's coming up at the G7 summit in Japan

Obama joined leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan for the international conference.

“We learned a lesson that we failed to respond properly because we did not have a firm recognition of the risks,” Japanese Prime Minister Abe told reporters.

“This time, we had a thorough discussion and recognized the major risks facing the global economy.” Abe was comparing what was known before the 2008 financial crisis to current awareness of slumping commodity prices and slowing economic growth in China.

Obama says world leaders right to be 'rattled' by Trump

In addition to the economy, world leaders were expected to discuss trade, politics, climate change and energy. Maritime security in the South China Sea, a source of dispute between Japan and China, may also be on the agenda.

China is not a member of the G-7, but it's official Xinhua new agency published a report Thursday warning the bloc not to "meddle" in contested maritime claims in the region. Xinhua said the G-7 should "mind its own business rather than pointing fingers at others."

Discussing the 2016 presidential campaign in a news conference, Obama said world leaders were justified in feeling "rattled" by Donald Trump because many of the Republican candidate's proposals lacked knowledge about world affairs.

Japan PM has no plans to go to Pearl Harbor