G7 Hiroshima Summit

From May 19 to 21 this year (2023), as the G7 Presidency, Japan will host the G7 Hiroshima Summit at Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture.

The G7 Summit is an international forum held annually for the leaders of the seven member states of France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada (in order of rotating presidency), and the European Union (EU). At the G7 Summit, the leaders of the G7, which shares fundamental values such as freedom, democracy and human rights, exchange candid views on important challenges the international community is facing at that time, such as the global economy, regional affairs and various global agendas, and issue a document as an outcome of such discussions.

Japan has assumed the G7 Presidency six times, and the G7 Hiroshima Summit will be the seventh Summit held in Japan. It has significant implications that the leaders of the G7 gather for discussions in Hiroshima, a city which has recovered from the catastrophic damage by an atomic bomb and which continues to seek lasting world peace.

Prime Minister Kishida has stated that as the world is facing an unprecedented crisis by aggression against Ukraine and the growing risk of use of weapons of mass destruction, at the G7 Hiroshima Summit in 2023, Japan would like to demonstrate the G7’s strong determination, with historical significance, to firmly deny military aggression, threats to use nuclear weapons as Russia has done, as well as any attempts to overthrow the international order. From such viewpoints, the Government of Japan decided to host the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, considering Hiroshima as the most fitting location to express its commitment to peace.

At the occasion of the G7 Hiroshima Summit, the leaders of the G7 will get acquainted with the realities of nuclear weapon use and share their desire for peace. Japan hopes that it will solidify steps toward achieving a world without nuclear weapons. Furthermore, by showing the world the strength of Hiroshima’s recovery from the atomic bombing, Japan can once again emphasize the preciousness of peace.

Charm of Hiroshima

Hiroshima is a scenic prefecture bordered by the Chugoku Mountains to the north and the Seto Inland Sea to the south. While agriculture and fishing thrive in the mild climate facing the Seto Inland Sea, a wide range of commercial fields, from heavy industries including automobiles and steel to cutting-edge enterprises such as electronic components, have developed throughout the prefecture to produce innumerable world-class companies. Hiroshima is a strategic point linking Kansai and Kyushu, serving as a hub for business in the Chugoku region with its active flow of people and goods.

The Summit host city of Hiroshima ranks as the largest metropolitan area in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions with its population of about 1.2 million. It is globally recognized not only as a city of peace, but also as an urban tourist destination blessed with mountains, rivers, and the sea. In 2018, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the city of Hiroshima alone received approximately 1.78 million overseas visitors, with Hiroshima Prefecture as a whole welcoming 2.75 million.

Hiroshima is known for its strong hometown spirit among people of all ages. Locals are proud of their natural environment, which blends city with nature and yields the blessing of delicious regional products such as oysters farmed in Hiroshima Bay and sake in the Saijo area of Higashihiroshima City. Sports are very popular in Hiroshima, and locally-based professional teams in sports such as baseball, soccer, and basketball, are known for their passionate fans.

Hatchobori, Nagaregawa-cho, and Kamiya-cho are a few of the bustling neighborhoods in downtown Hiroshima City where young people gather to shop and dine. Hiroshima’s own apparel brands, specialty boutiques, and artists contribute to Hiroshima’s local atmosphere generating a unique street culture.

Initiatives in Hiroshima towards the Summit

Various organizations in Hiroshima Prefecture have taken initiatives to support the G7 Hiroshima Summit. Among them, the Citizens Council for the Hiroshima Summit is a joint public-private organization consisting of Hiroshima Prefecture, the City of Hiroshima, and related organizations in various fields, such as economy, transportation, and medical care. The council has implemented prefecture-wide initiatives based on five pillars: ‘Supporting the operation of the Summit,’ ‘Hospitality,’ ‘Disseminating information about peace,’ ‘Communicating the appeal of Hiroshima,’ and ‘Promoting youth participation in events leading to post-summit activities.’ One of the initiatives the council is implementing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Japanese government is the Summit School for the Next Generation program. At the Summit School for the Next Generation program, officers of MOFA have offered students of junior and senior high schools in Hiroshima Prefecture a detailed discussion of the significance of holding the G7 Summit in Hiroshima and the organization and role of MOFA. At a lecture held on January 11 at Hiroshima Municipal Funairi High School, Tanaka Noriko, a Hiroshima native and Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for the G7 Hiroshima Summit, spoke to about 640 students and stated, “Hosting the G7 Summit in the city where the atomic bomb was dropped is very significant for achieving peace in the international community.”

Under the program, which concluded March 2023, officials have visited 23 schools in Hiroshima Prefecture, including junior and senior high schools as well as national colleges of technology.

(For more information on the G7 Hiroshima Summit, see https://www.g7hiroshima.go.jp/en/)

Note: This article has been created with the consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and on the basis of materials published by the ministry.