Upon freedom of information request, Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ documents disclose Prime Minister Kishida was originally expected to provide an account of the A-bomb Dome for G7 Hiroshima Summit: Why Hiroshima Mayor replaced him isn’t revealed
Oct. 12, 2023
by Koji Higuchi and Masaya Akiyoshi, Staff Writers
On October 11, it became known Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (the lawmaker elected from the Hiroshima election district who served as chair of the summit), was initially scheduled to provide an account of the A-bomb Dome in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward to participants at the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrial nations) held in Hiroshima in May, but was replaced, instead, by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said having the mayor provide the account was appropriate as the Dome is a facility managed by the city. However, the ministry hasn’t provided the exact reason for the change.
This fact was revealed in documents concerning the summit, disclosed because of a freedom of information request submitted by the Chugoku Shimbun to the ministry. According to the document prepared in April regarding the program of activities to be held at Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward during the summit period, it is stated “The prime minister would provide an account of the A-bomb Dome to other global leaders.”
Responding to questions from the Chugoku Shimbun, a senior official of the ministry said, “The Dome is a facility managed by the city. So, it is natural for the mayor provide the account.” But no further reasons were provided.
Twenty-one types of documents containing 142 pages were released upon request. The documents indicate each event and how long G7 leaders would spend on each event. For example, “Offering flowers to the Cenotaph (of A-bomb Victims) and group photo-taking (10 minutes),” but the length of duration detailing the leaders’ visit to Peace Memorial Park was blacked out.
G7 leaders spent about 40 minutes touring the museum; four times longer than the time U.S. President Barack Obama stayed in the museum during his visit in 2016. But it has been made clear the City of Hiroshima requested the ministry to have the leaders see the museum for about an hour.
Ever since the preparation phase for the summit, the ministry has ensured confidentiality is maintained for events related to the museum, on the grounds of its relationships with other nations. The documents disclosed point to the fact that the ministry had prioritized the flow and security of U.S. President Joe Biden, and that it was in frequent discussion with the U.S. government. However, documents were blacked out in some sections.
(Originally published on October 12, 2023)
On October 11, it became known Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (the lawmaker elected from the Hiroshima election district who served as chair of the summit), was initially scheduled to provide an account of the A-bomb Dome in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward to participants at the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrial nations) held in Hiroshima in May, but was replaced, instead, by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said having the mayor provide the account was appropriate as the Dome is a facility managed by the city. However, the ministry hasn’t provided the exact reason for the change.
This fact was revealed in documents concerning the summit, disclosed because of a freedom of information request submitted by the Chugoku Shimbun to the ministry. According to the document prepared in April regarding the program of activities to be held at Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward during the summit period, it is stated “The prime minister would provide an account of the A-bomb Dome to other global leaders.”
Responding to questions from the Chugoku Shimbun, a senior official of the ministry said, “The Dome is a facility managed by the city. So, it is natural for the mayor provide the account.” But no further reasons were provided.
Twenty-one types of documents containing 142 pages were released upon request. The documents indicate each event and how long G7 leaders would spend on each event. For example, “Offering flowers to the Cenotaph (of A-bomb Victims) and group photo-taking (10 minutes),” but the length of duration detailing the leaders’ visit to Peace Memorial Park was blacked out.
G7 leaders spent about 40 minutes touring the museum; four times longer than the time U.S. President Barack Obama stayed in the museum during his visit in 2016. But it has been made clear the City of Hiroshima requested the ministry to have the leaders see the museum for about an hour.
Ever since the preparation phase for the summit, the ministry has ensured confidentiality is maintained for events related to the museum, on the grounds of its relationships with other nations. The documents disclosed point to the fact that the ministry had prioritized the flow and security of U.S. President Joe Biden, and that it was in frequent discussion with the U.S. government. However, documents were blacked out in some sections.
(Originally published on October 12, 2023)
