Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is facing declining political fortunes at home, appears to have failed to make the diplomatic impact he was hoping for at the just-ended Group of 20 summit.
Kishida had envisioned pitching his vision of a "world without nuclear weapons" at the G20 gathering in Indonesia, a theme behind his choice of Hiroshima as the venue for the Group of Seven summit that Japan is set to host next year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to attend the two-day G20 event until just days before it started Tuesday, and Kishida viewed the opportunity to speak out against nuclear brinkmanship in front of Putin as a way to boost Japan's presence in the international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, his close aides said.