Japan PM aims for nuclear-free world
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged yesterday to pave the way for achieving his cherished goal of a world without nuclear weapons at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, a day before it opens in the western city devastated by a US atomic bomb in 1945.
Earlier in the day, Kishida arrived in Hiroshima Prefecture, with stringent security in place, to host the first G-7 summit in Japan in seven years, following the one held in the Ise-shima area of Mie Prefecture, central Japan, under then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
During the three-day summit from today, Kishida, who represents Hiroshima as a lawmaker, and other G-7 leaders are likely to confirm the importance of making sure nuclear weapons will never be used again.
"I would like to demonstrate our commitment to peace in Hiroshima. I hope this summit will be etched in history," Kishida told reporters at his office in Tokyo before leaving for Hiroshima.
In the face of the war in Ukraine and China's military assertiveness in the Asia-pacific region, Kishida also said that he and the leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States plus the European Union will demonstrate their resolve to uphold a rules-based international order.
At the summit, Kishida is expected to emphasise the necessity of a "free and open Indo-pacific", a Japan-led initiative, and to promise to enhance engagement with developing nations called the "Global South".
On the opening day of the gathering, Kishida is set to welcome the G-7 leaders at the Peace Memorial Park, built in memory of the victims of the first nuclear attack in history on August 6, 1945, nine days before Japan surrendered in World War II.
It would mark the first occasion for heads of the G-7 advanced economies to visit the park together, including those from the group's three nuclear powers - the United States, Britain and France.
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has no plans to issue an apology on behalf of the United States for the use of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima during his trip to the city, according to his National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
At the Hiroshima summit, the G-7 leaders are scheduled to discuss ways to advance nuclear disarmament at a session today and release an outcome document vowing to bolster the regime established by the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, a Japanese government source said.
Yesterday, Kishida was also poised to hold bilateral talks with G-7 leaders including Biden, aiming to finalise the details of the conclusions that they will hammer out during their summit.
The G-7 gathering comes around one month after an explosive device was thrown at Kishida just before he was due to make an election campaign speech in the western Japan city of Wakayama.
The attack came less than a year after Abe was fatally shot in July 2022 during a stump speech in the city of Nara, about 90km north of Wakayama, an incident that prompted the National Police Agency to beef up its VIP security.