THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
May 22, 2023 at 14:54 JST
HIROSHIMA--Following in the footsteps of Group of Seven leaders, heads of invited countries and organizations were treated to a guided tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum here on May 21 and a request from the city's mayor.
“I really hope you will be a driving force for the abolition of nuclear weapons,” Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui told the leaders as he showed them the inscription on a cenotaph at the park that reads, “Let all the souls here rest in peace; For we shall not repeat the evil.”
“It shows our resolve and pledge never to repeat the mistakes of war,” Matsui added.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida laid flowers at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other global leaders.
The Hiroshima officials said they urged Modi to take the first step toward a world free of nuclear weapons. India, a nuclear power, is not a signee of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Modi also joined a ceremony at the park the day before where he unveiled a statue of Indian saint Mahatma Gandhi.
The G-7 leaders, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have also visited the museum, which stands in the park.
(This article was written by Yusuke Ogawa and Emika Terashima.)
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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, and the leaders of guest countries and organizations at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on May 21 (Takeshi Iwashita)
