Hiroshima's message of peace was lost on the G-7
Ukraine distracted U.S. and allies from needs of developing world
Nancy Snow is distinguished visiting professor of strategic communications at Schwarzman College of Tsinghua University in Beijing and principal of Global Persuasion Strategies. She is the author of "The Mystery of Japan's Information Power" and was previously an Abe Fellow at Keio University.
It would be truly ironic and sad for the world if the unified hard power stance toward Russia and China shown at the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Hiroshima, Japan served to escalate, rather than mitigate, global problems.
Throughout the Indo-Pacific region, it has been clear which countries Japan views as most threatening. Now Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has the support of top European nations and the U.S. lifting his political prospects, which could include getting a stronger grip on power through a snap election.
Media coverage has almost universally scored this month's Hiroshima summit as a great success. The assembled leaders showed a united front, promoted stability, and best of all, avoided major controversy. The Nikkei Stock Average enthusiastically climbed to levels not seen in decades.
But I am left with a sense of unease.
On two pre-summit media tours of Hiroshima, the city brand was obvious: preserving and telling the stories of the past century so that the world can expand its peace and conflict resolution toolkit. One trip included an emotional exchange at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum with 93-year-old Kiyomi Kono, an atomic bomb survivor.
Contrast that with the experience of G-7 leaders. They visited the museum for about 30 minutes and had one face-to-face interaction with an atomic bomb survivor. Media were banned from accompanying the leaders and activist survivors were sidelined from voicing calls to ban nuclear weapons.
It would have been a bit complicated to plan a session where nuclear nation leaders from France, India, the U.K. and the U.S. could hear from supporters of nuclear abolition. And yet, that seemed to be Kishida's intention ahead of the summit.
"We will once again confirm our resolve to work for a world without nuclear weapons and we hope to transmit to the world our strong determination to protect the free and open international order based on the rule of law," he told reporters as he headed to the summit. "I hope that here in Hiroshima, the G-7 and leaders from elsewhere will show their commitment to peace, which will be remembered in history."
What was the point of gathering in Hiroshima if its most deeply personal story is condensed into a quick memorial museum and a silent wreath-laying ceremony?
Present-day defense and security issues, while important, are ongoing challenges on the international stage. Lost at the summit was the larger message that the global community, nuclear and nonnuclear nations alike, must not go beyond the brink in violent confrontation.
Leaders at the summit pressed hard on the power button with denunciations of China for economic coercion, bullying and intimidation.
At the summit's close, U.S. President Joe Biden responded to a question about the lack of communications between Beijing and Washington with a call for an open hotline.
Although a "silly balloon" surveillance incident over American air space in February all but froze relations, Biden said, "I think you're going to see that begin to thaw very shortly." Details are still to follow.
Meanwhile, China and Russia, its no-limits partner, are growing ever closer. Soon after the summit, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was warmly welcomed to Beijing, with the resulting bilateral agreements presented as a tit-for-tat response to the criticism directed at both in Hiroshima.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's scene-stealing personal appearance in Hiroshima was a crowd-pleaser as he delivered his message that Russia's war in Ukraine is the world's biggest problem to resolve.
Ukraine's tragedy is indeed one of the world's big problems, but it is not the only one. Japan recognized this by inviting India, Brazil and Indonesia to sit in on the summit as Group of 20 representatives of the Global South.
Developing countries stress needs-based economics, not dictates from power blocs. Their presence was to show that there are global community interests in play, including debt forgiveness, sustainable development, fair trade and the environment. But this trio was overshadowed by the special guest from Eastern Europe.
Peter Baker, a New York Times reporter who has covered G-7 gatherings for 26 years, observed that this year's attendees constituted "The club that wants nothing to do with Russia." Add to that, "The club that wants nothing to do with China."
The elite members-only G-7 has a right to be selective, but it was turning its back on two key members of the G-20.
India, which maintains strong energy and arms ties with Russia, will preside for the first time over the G-20's annual leaders' summit in September in New Delhi.
The G-20 represent two-thirds of the world population, 85% of global gross domestic product and over 75% of global trade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised that India will serve as a bridge between the Global South and developed countries.
Sadly, there was no obvious bridge in Hiroshima between the G-7 and the G-20, despite the presence of the invited trio. Instead, geopolitics triumphed.
In a sharp policy reversal, Biden jumped on board Zelenskyy's appeal for F-16 fighter jets. This should cause pause, not applause.
Biden long held back from approving this move due to worries that it could escalate tensions with Russia and enrage an already unpredictable President Vladimir Putin. Any pledge from Zelenskyy that these jets will not attack Russian territory may not overcome what the fog of war dictates with a momentum and escalation all its own.
For now, all the leaders have left Hiroshima but the city remains, with its eternal flame and a plaque that reads, "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil."