Japan PM keen to schedule meeting between G7 leaders & Atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that he would consider convening a meeting between Group of Seven (G7) leaders and atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, when the country holds the summit of the grouping in 2023. Hiroshima is a city in Japan which was largely destroyed by an atomic bomb during the Second World War. In a meeting with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, Prime Minister Kishida also expressed interest in scheduling a visit by the G7 leaders to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which depicts the realities of the 1945 atomic blast. 

According to reports, the Japanese Prime Minister has made it a mission to create a world free of nuclear weapons. "Although consultations with each government are necessary, I would like to consider the plans," Kishida said in the meeting which was also attended by Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki and Mayor Matsui on Thursday, Kyodo News reported. The local authorities urged Kishida to set up a meeting with "hibakusha," or atomic bomb survivors, and a visit to the museum for the G7 leaders. 

Kishida got G7 backing for holding next year's summit in Hiroshima

As the world currently faces a nuclear threat from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Kishida chose Hiroshima as the most appropriate location for the G7 leaders' summit under the Japanese presidency in 2023. When the G7 leaders met in person in Tokyo in May, Kishida garnered the support of US President Joe Biden for the selection of Hiroshima. During a joint press conference with Biden, Kishida had said that he planned to sue G7’s resolve to “consistently reject any threats using nuclear weapons and attempts to overthrow the international order” while referring to the Russia-Ukraine war. 

G7 must take concrete security measures towards global peace: Kishida  

According to the Japanese government, other members of the group, notably nuclear heavyweights France and the United Kingdom, also backed the idea of holding the summit in Hiroshima. Further, Prime Minister Kishida stated that the G7 must take substantial security measures, and that Japan will take the lead in making the summit a stride towards global peace in the midst of the Ukraine conflict. It is pertinent to mention here that the city of Hiroshima was ravaged by an atomic bomb dropped by the United States in 1945, killing around 140,000 people by the end of the year.  

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