G7 Hiroshima Summit Japan 2023
The city of Hiroshima will welcome the leaders of the Group of Seven nations for an historic three-day summit from May 19. Japan took on the presidency of the G7 this year and will host more than 10 ministerial meetings in venues across the country—from Sapporo in the north to Miyazaki in the south—between early May and mid-December. The pinnacle of this diplomatic initiative will be the leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, which also happens to be the hometown of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The summit—which brings together the leaders of France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Canada in Japan—will address many of the key challenges that presently face the international community.
These challenges include disruptions to the global economy, challenges to energy and food security, the conflict in Ukraine, threats to the peace and security of the Indo-Pacific region, nuclear disarmament, climate change, and global health.
Shared Commitments
As a son of Hiroshima, the first city in the world to be the target of an attack with a nuclear weapon, Kishida will put peace and security high on his personal agenda at the talks.
“Having experienced the Covid-19 pandemic and being faced with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which shook the very foundation of the international order, the international community is now at a historic turning point,” Kishida stated in his message outlining the aims of the summit.
“The G7 firmly rejects any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or the threat or use of nuclear weapons and upholds the international order based on the rule of law,” he said. “I will lead the discussion as chair and demonstrate the G7’s strong determination to the world with historical significance.”
Given global events over the last 12 months, Mr Kishida has taken the opportunity to invite a number of other nations with shared commitments to the global community to also attend the summit, either in person or remotely.
During a recent visit to New Delhi, Kishida invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take part, along with Yoon Suk-yeol, the president of South Korea. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, is also expected to take part in a live video feed from Kyiv.
The largest city in Japan’s Chugoku region, Hiroshima has a population of about 1.2 million people and, as a result of its place in history, is globally regarded as a city of peace.
It has also become an important tourist destination for foreigners coming to Japan, attracting 1.78 million overseas in 2018, the year prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The vast majority take the time to visit two designated World Heritage Sites, the Atomic Bomb Dome and Itsukushima Shrine, which graces the nearby island of Miyajima.
The city has all the infrastructure required by large numbers of international visitors, including a number of high-grade hotels, including the ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima and the Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima, which will host the summit.
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