The 2023 G7 Summit took place this weekend. Information about the summit and the agenda for the event can be found at: G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023
Dominating the coverage of the summit was a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the G7 leaders – and a tangible commitment of increased military support for Ukraine by the U.S. and other G7 countries.
With its position in the East China Sea, a post-WWII democratic alignment with the West, and geographic position relative to China and Taiwan, a strategic focus has become more clear: Japan will figure prominently in whatever the future holds for the region and the world.
Some of the more interesting, off-the-beaten-path headlines in the run-up to the Summit are summarized below – followed by the series of posts we did in the run up to the Summit, in an attempt to capture the situational awareness and strategic implications of the future of Japan.
G7 digital ministers agree to pursue responsible AI as ChatGPT booms | The Japan Times:
- With new artificial intelligence applications such as ChatGPT taking the world by storm, digital and technology ministers from the Group of Seven nations on Sunday called for speeding up discussions on the responsible use and governance of the new tech.
- The ministers also agreed to further promote smooth and trustworthy cross-border data flows — one of Japan’s key goals for the two-day G7 tech meeting — as more countries look to tighten regulations on the flow of data (1)
Haunted by Hiroshima, Japanese Leader to Meet Biden With a Push for No Nukes:
- G-7 gathering in the city hit by U.S. nuclear weapon comes as hopes for disarmament grow distant.
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he decided that this year’s summit of leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations would take place in his family’s hometown, to push for progress on nuclear disarmament.
- The leaders are gathering in Hiroshima as the push is losing ground. Russia has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in its invasion of Ukraine, and North Korea is adding to its nuclear arsenal outside of international controls. The plight of Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear weapons in the 1990s, is teaching countries – if anything – the value of a nuclear deterrent. (2)
Hiroshima survivors urge G7 leaders to unite against atomic weapons | Japan:
- Almost eight decades after the bomb, G7 leaders will meet in the Japanese city where survivors are urging action on disarmament amid the Ukraine war
- Almost 80 years since the bombing of Hiroshima, survivors of the atomic bombings are urging G7 leaders to issue a strong statement against the use of atomic weapons when they meet in Hiroshima later this month.
- …as the spectre of nuclear weapons returns – this time in Ukraine – survivors of the atomic bombings, known as hibakusha, are urging G7 leaders to issue a strong statement against the use of atomic weapons when they meet in Hiroshima later this week.
- “Hiroshima was only able to transform itself into the city we have today because we have had more than 70 years of peace,” said Ryohei Tanabe, a Hiroshima survivor. “The G7 leaders need to understand that,” added Tanabe.
- An estimated 60,000 to 80,000 people died instantly in the attack; by the end of the year, the death toll had risen to 140,000 as more succumbed to burns and illnesses caused by exposure to radiation.
- Local officials hope that when G7 leaders see present-day Hiroshima’s green spaces and wide boulevards, they will reflect on the destruction that came before, now represented by the shell of the A-bomb dome. (3)
Guest nations at the G-7 reflect outreach to developing countries, worries over China, Russia
- This week’s summit of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies in Hiroshima will include eight other guest nations, part of a complicated, high-stakes diplomatic gambit meant to settle the world’s most serious crises.
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has invited South Korea, Australia, India, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros, and the Cook Islands.
- Kishida hopes this mix of countries will help efforts to stand up to China’s assertiveness and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to analysts.
- He also wants stronger ties with U.S. allies and with developing nations and to make progress on working toward a nuclear-free world, something that looks increasingly difficult amid North Korean and Russian nuclear threats. (4)
Is Japan’s Approach to AI the Future of Global, Risk-based, Multistakeholder AI Governance?
The OODA Network on the “Real Danger” of AI Innovation at Exponential Speed and Scale – and not Adequately Addressing AI Governance
Japan and the Future of Commercial Space
Japan Challenges China with Rare Earth Metal Extraction from Seabed by 2024
U.S.-South Korea Cyber Cooperation Helps Contain China Regionally
Five More Reasons Japan Should be on Your Sensemaking Radar
Japan’s Stunning Advancements in National Defense Investments
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ‘tramples’ UN charter according to Japan PM
