Hiroshima, a symbol of peace, did not imagine that it would again witness the tension of the world. Japan hosted the G7 in 2016, and Barack Obama made a historic visit to the city that was the victim of the first nuclear bombing. The appointment now includes South Korea, India or Australia and shows the urgency of maintaining the status quo in the region. Japan, the only Asian nation in the group of the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, the United States and the representative of the EU, is seeking to strengthen diplomatic alliances around the “rule of law”, in a clear allusion to the challenges that Russia and China pose to the international order.

Hiroshima wants a world without nuclear weapons, but Russia – kicked out of the Group in 2014 over its annexation of Crimea – is stoking old fears by threatening to use them. Meanwhile, North Korea launched a record 59 missiles in 2022, prompting alarm in Tokyo and Seoul. China, for its part, is assertively financing. In Japanese waters alone, it has been raided 32 times this year, according to Japanese government data. The military rise of Beijing, tensions in Taiwan, territorial conflicts, Hong Kong or the arrest on Chinese soil of 17 Japanese accused of espionage since 2016, Tokyo sees as a challenge to its national security. Japan demands greater responsibility from its neighbor. India and Australia suffer similar disagreements.

The war in Ukraine fueled the Sino-Russian alliance. Joint naval maneuvers are frequent, and Chinese support for Russian exports reduces the effects of international sanctions. Russia is distancing itself from Europe by attacking a sovereign nation, and China is seen as untrustworthy in the Asia-Pacific region due to its military self-reliance, authoritarianism and economic compulsion to impose interests. To counter these differences, there were diplomatic and military alliances in India, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and the USA. Japan, which has boasted the world’s most pacifist constitution – imposed by the US in 1946 – has approved the biggest defense budget overhaul since World War II, a doubling of military spending that will reach 2% of the GDP of a third-world economy by 2027. And consider another step one: open the first NATO liaison office in Asia.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will promote the “free and open Indo-Pacific” initiative. A free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). Launched a few years ago by Shinzo Abe, it advocates economic and military cooperation. The USA, India, Australia, New Zealand and the EU have joined, and Japan is now looking at Latin America: Ecuador, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala or Uruguay have already recognized it. In recent months, Tokyo has developed a frenzy of diplomatic activity and ironed out rough edges with Seoul. He traveled to four nations in Africa and nine in Latin America and the Caribbean, seeking cooperation in the Indo-Pacific from both continents, where the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is another priority.

The G7 also brings together the leaders of emerging economies India, Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia. Lula, the representative of Latin America, declared that he would stand for peace. But his closeness to Putin and Xi keeps him away from possible harsh condemnation of Russia or greater regional cooperation as a counterweight to China. On the other side of the Pacific, many Latin American governments do not feel uncomfortable with Russia and China and opt for pragmatism, not wanting to position themselves between the two worlds. How long will he be able to avoid the intersection? (OR)