HIROSHIMA (Dispatches) – Violence broke out on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima as riot police wrestled people protesting the meeting of world leaders.
Police could be seen pinning protesters to the ground on Sunday after a brawl broke out.
In the minute-long clip, widespread shouting can be heard as a throng of riot police jostle with a protestor angrily lashing out at them.
The G7 comprises the U.S., UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – and eight other nations have been invited this year. They’re meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine and other foreign policy points – including their relationships with China.
The group lurches to one side, as two protestors are eventually pinned down.
One of the pair, a young man, is then filmed angrily talking to the camera after being released.
Protests also took place on Saturday, with demonstrators accusing the G7 nations of escalating the war in Ukraine, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that it was time to reform both the Security Council and Bretton Woods to align with the “realities of today’s world”.
Speaking at a press conference in Hiroshima, Japan, where the Group of Seven summit meeting had been held, Guterres said both institutions reflected the power relations of 1945 and needed to be updated.
“The global financial architecture became outdated, dysfunctional and unfair,” he said. “In the face of the economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of
Ukraine, it has failed to fulfill its core function as a global safety net.”
Guterres also spoke of how he felt that at the G7 summit there was a growing consciousness among developing countries that not enough was being done to reform outdated institutions or “remove the frustrations” of the Global South.