HIROSHIMA--Reactions among the public were mixed at the conclusion of the Group of Seven summit here, between the happiness expressed by Ukrainians living in Japan to the outrage of an atomic bomb survivor and a former mayor.

The assembled G-7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who flew to Japan on May 20, visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which houses exhibits depicting the devastating aftermath of the atomic bomb that was dropped on the city on Aug. 6, 1945.

UKRAINIAN WOMAN LIVING IN HIROSHIMA

Olena Kravchuk, 34, a Ukrainian living in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, welcomed Zelenskyy’s visit to the museum.

“We all need to tell the world that the use of nuclear weapons is absolutely unacceptable and would like to stop Russia (from using them),” she said.

She came to Japan nine years ago. Her younger sister Anastasiia, 15, temporarily evacuated to Olena’s home in Japan in March 2022, a month after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Amid threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin of the use of nuclear weapons, Olena said she wanted to know the reality of the aftermath caused by the Hiroshima bombing. She visited the museum with her sister.

“I believe the leaders learned the damage of the atomic bombing at the museum,” Olena said. “I would like them to abolish all the nuclear weapons in the world.”

The Hiroshima Ukrainian Association, comprised of Ukrainians living in Hiroshima, held a news conference in the city on May 21.

“It truly was a special day,” said Anastasiya Khotina, 39, head of the association. “We would like (the leaders) to continue supporting Ukraine and end the war.”

CRIMEAN WOMAN IN HIROSHIMA WORRIED

On the other hand, there are also people who watched Zelenskyy’s dramatic participation in the summit and his visit to the museum with mixed feelings.

One is a woman in her 40s who hails from the Crimean Peninsula and now resides in Hiroshima city.

When she was in her mid-teens, the peninsula became a part of Ukraine after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. But Russia unilaterally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Although she currently holds Russian citizenship, the woman has supported evacuees from Ukraine through offering them interpretation services. 

“President Zelenskyy’s participation in the summit may provoke President Putin and push peace further away,” she said. “I would like both countries to talk directly to end the war and ensure that nuclear weapons are not used.”

FORMER HIROSHIMA MAYOR CRITICIZES KISHIDA

Takashi Hiraoka, 95, a former Hiroshima mayor, expressed anger, saying Prime Minister Fumio Kishida “trampled on Hiroshima’s wishes.”

“Since the leaders gathered in Hiroshima, they should have totally denied nuclear weapons and discussed how to build peace,” he said.

However, the "Hiroshima Vision" on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation issued by the G-7 leaders on May 19 emphasized the importance of maintaining a nuclear deterrent.

“Hiroshima, a city which has consistently denied nuclear weapons and war, was used as a stage. Kishida as the summit chair is culpable,” Hiraoka said.

YOUNG HIROSHIMA RESIDENT WANTS PEACE

Yuta Takahashi, 22, said Zelenskyy’s visit fell under the perfect narrative that Ukraine “must fight to pursue peace, so please support the country for that.”

Takahashi was born in Hiroshima Prefecture and serves as the co-head of Kakuwaka Hiroshima, an organization of young people aiming to abolish nuclear weapons.

He said the intent of the Hiroshima Vision was to accept the existence of nuclear weapons.

“I don’t understand why (Kishida) held a summit in Hiroshima, the city that suffered the atomic bombing,” Takahashi said angrily. 

ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVOR INSULTED

Setsuko Thurlow, who was exposed to radiation at the age of 13 in Hiroshima and now lives in Canada, was disappointed after reading the G-7 leaders’ statement released on May 20.

“Is this all they can write? It’s an insult to atomic bomb victims,” she said.

The statement did not mention the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which Japan has yet to sign. 

“The summit was a huge failure,” Thurlow said.

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, she added, “All I hear are preparations to continue the war. It’s not pleasant.”

(This article was written by Hideshi Nishimoto, Kazutaka Toda, Tomohiko Noto, Yuhei Kyono, Tetsuaki Otaki, Rikuri Kuroda, Asako Hanafusa and Shohei Okada.)