THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
June 8, 2023 at 13:13 JST
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waves to those welcoming him to Hiroshima Airport on May 18. (Miyuki Kanno)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a second visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum during the Group of Seven summit in May because he wanted to examine the displays more closely, government sources said.
Trudeau asked his hosts to arrange a second visit after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took the G-7 leaders through the museum on May 19, the start of the summit, the sources said.
The leaders left messages in the museum guestbook following their 40-minute visit.
“Canada pays solemn tribute to the many lives lost, the unspeakable grief of the Hibakusha, and the immense suffering of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Trudeau wrote.
He added in French that the experience of those who survived the atomic bombings would forever remain in the hearts of Canadians.
Officials arranged for a second visit to the museum by Trudeau on the afternoon of May 21, the final day of the summit.
When asked about the reason Trudeau made a second visit, an official at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo declined comment, citing the private nature of the visit.
(This article was written by Takuya Suzuki and Anri Takahashi.)
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