Visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims, and Tree-Planting Ceremony by the G7 Leaders (Summary)

[Provisional translation]

On May 19, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio and his spouse, Mrs. KISHIDA Yuko, welcomed the G7 leaders and their spouses (H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic; The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States of America and the First Lady; The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; H.E. Mr. Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and his spouse; H.E. Ms. Giorgia Meloni, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic; The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and his spouse; H.E. Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council; and H.E. Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and her spouse), who were visiting Hiroshima to attend the G7 Hiroshima Summit, at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture. Prime Minister KISHIDA then visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and participated in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims and the tree-planting ceremony with the G7 leaders inside the park. The overview of the visit as follows.

1. Prime Minister KISHIDA and his spouse, Mrs. KISHIDA, welcomed H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic; The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States of America and the First Lady; The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; H.E. Mr. Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and his spouse; H.E. Ms. Giorgia Meloni, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic; The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and his spouse; H.E. Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council; and H.E. Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and her spouse at the Peace Memorial Park.
2. The G7 leaders visited the Peace Memorial Museum together, and in addition to the Prime Minister himself explaining the exhibits, the G7 leaders also exchanged words with Ms. OGURA Keiko, hibakusha (an atomic bombing survivor).
3. After the visit, Prime Minister KISHIDA and other G7 leaders were escorted to the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims by Mr. YUZAKI Hidehiko, Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, and Mr. MATSUI Kazumi, Mayor of the City of Hiroshima. They laid a wreath at the Cenotaph, and offered a silent prayer with the support of junior high and high school students in Hiroshima.
4. After hearing the explanation about the Atomic Bomb Dome by Mayor MATSUI, the G7 leaders, together with Prime Minister KISHIDA, planted a cherry tree that survived the atomic bombing (Somei-Yoshino) in the park, as a symbol of the aspiration for peace and the G7 leaders’ will to unite for achieving peace.
5. Through their visit to the Peace Memorial Park, the G7 leaders deepened their understanding of the reality of the atomic bombings and joined their hearts in consoling the souls of lost lives. The G7 leaders reiterated their position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone its use are inadmissible. We are convinced that this visit became an opportunity to confirm G7’s commitment to the realization of a world without nuclear weapons.