G7 Summit Kicks Off in Hiroshima

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Facts

  • The annual Group of 7 (G7) summit began Friday in Hiroshima, Japan as the seven leading countries — the US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, Italy, and France — along with multiple other nations convened to discuss global economic and political issues.1
  • G7 countries have seen a reduction in their economic dominance in recent decades, leading Japanese Prime Minister Kishida to also invite Australia, India, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros (on behalf of the African Union), and the Cook Islands (representing the Pacific Islands Forum) to the gathering.2
  • The war in Ukraine is a main topic of discussion and US Pres. Biden reaffirmed his continued support for Ukraine by committing to allow other nations to provide US-made F-16 jets to Kyiv and to train Ukrainian pilots on them, a deviation from the US' previous stance that Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy deemed a "historic decision." Zelenksyy also made a splash by announcing his surprise trip to the summit.3
  • Zelenskyy initially planned to address the conference remotely but decided to address the group in person and will arrive in Japan on Saturday. In a joint statement, G7 leaders revealed plans to “starve Russia” of technology from the G7 and provide Ukraine with assistance.4
  • While the conflict between Ukraine and Russia dominated many of the conversations, G7 leaders are also focused on developing an approach for dealing with China. While each country has a different relationship with the world’s second-largest economy, G7 ministers jointly urged China to “abstain” from threats and using force in Taiwan.5
  • The summit is taking place in the Japanese city devastated by the atomic bomb in 1945, and protesters gathered waving signs saying “No nuclear war!” and “No imperialist G7 summit!” Demonstrations are common at the G7, which held its first meeting in 1975.6

Sources: 1CNBC, 2BBC News, 3Associated Press, 4CBS, 5CNN, and 6Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Associated Press. The G7 summit offers an extremely important opportunity for leaders from some of the world’s most powerful democracies to come together and discuss major issues. In addition to the usual economic forces, leaders from other rising countries are attending this year’s event as threats from Russia and China mount. In the face of political and economic uncertainty, it is of the utmost importance that democracies worldwide unite to keep the world safe.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by PressTV. Global elites cannot help themselves as they continue instigating Russia and China while thousands continue to die in the 15-month war in Ukraine. While G7 leaders may pretend that they are promoting peace, their actions show that they are committed to unrestrained militarism. One would think holding the summit in Hiroshima would serve as a reminder of the devastation that nuclear war can bring, but the warmongers of the G7 — and the military-industrial complexes they uphold — are unphased.