Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers a question during a May 15 interview with five Japanese media organizations. (Koichi Ueda)

The backdrop of Hiroshima for this year’s Group of Seven summit carries huge historical significance, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said ahead of a renewed international call to never resort to the use of nuclear weapons.

Kishida, who is from Hiroshima, noted that Japan, as chair of the proceedings, will host the leaders of not only the G-7, but also those of eight other nations as well as representatives of key international organizations, from May 19.

That has “huge historical significance” as the A-bombed city “symbolizes the (international) pledge for peace,” he said.

“The world is at a historic turning point as it faces a situation with the Russian invasion of Ukraine that shakes the very foundation of the international order,” Kishida said in a May 15 interview with five Japanese media outlets, including The Asahi Shimbun.

“We will steadfastly reject not only the threat of nuclear weapons made by Russia, but the actual use of such weapons as well. The G-7 will deliver a clear message of its intention to protect at all costs a free and open international order based on the rule of law.”

Kishida said the G-7 summit is an opportunity to heighten the momentum to achieve the ideal of a world without nuclear weapons as the meeting is to be held in a city that is synonymous with atomic destruction.

He said he wanted the G-7 leaders to reconfirm the Hiroshima Action Plan for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation that he laid out in August 2022 at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference.

“We must carry on the history of not using nuclear weapons,” Kishida said. “We must also reflect once again on the need for further efforts to reduce the number of nuclear weapons.”

The prime minister expressed his hope that all the G-7 leaders will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, saying the displays offer a starting point for working toward nuclear disarmament.

However, he acknowledged it could be problematic for all the G-7 leaders to find a common ground as the United States, Britain and France are nuclear powers.

Kishida also addressed concerns voiced overseas about generative artificial intelligence technology and ChatGPT in particular.

“We have to seek out a realistic and balanced approach rather than being all for promoting such technology or all for restricting it,” he said, referring to moves among some European nations to restrict the use of generative AI.

Kishida expressed his hope that the G-7 leaders could agree to address what he called the “Hiroshima AI Process” by beginning to draw up international rules regarding generative AI as well as setting up an international framework to bring about Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) that Japan first proposed in 2019.

Kishida was also asked about sexual minorities, an area in which Japan lags in terms of guaranteeing the rights of such individuals.

He expressed opposition to what he termed inappropriate discrimination and prejudice due to sexual orientation and gender identity but stopped short of pledging to play a pivotal role in passing legislation in the Diet to promote understanding of sexual minorities.

The other reporters taking part in the interview were from The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sankei Shimbun, Kyodo News and Jiji Press news agency.

(This article was written by Hisashi Ishimatsu and Keishi Nishimura.)

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