In interview with Chugoku Shimbun president, Prime Minister Kishida pledges to take on politics and money scandal, make efforts to register Hiroshima A-bombing photos with UNESCO’s “Memory of the World”
Jan. 1, 2024
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
At the onset of the new year, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sat down to an interview with Tetsuya Okahata, president of the Chugoku Shimbun, at the prime minister’s official residence. In the interview, Mr. Kishida stressed his aim to deliver tangible results in 2024 in prioritized policy areas, including the economy. Asked about the handling of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s persistent politics and money scandal, he replied he would “take the lead” on handling the issue. He also mentioned his goal of striving to achieve international registration of the “Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing—Photographs and films in 1945” with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) program known as “Memory of the World.”
The prime minister emphasized his desire to deliver results related to the economy, his major area of focus, by successfully breaking away from deflation and delivering wage hikes. He repeated his promise to make concrete progress in other items of his agenda, including measures to reverse the continued decline in the nation’s birthrate, engage in summit diplomacy with global leaders, formulate energy policy, and expand defense capabilities.
Reflecting on the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations), held in Hiroshima in May last year, Mr. Kishida said, “We were able to come to a consensus about our shared desire to seek a world without nuclear weapons,” adding his belief that “displaying a roadmap to achieve such a goal was a major responsibility for government.” He also vowed to make good on his own Hiroshima Action Plan, a policy formulated around five pillars, including enhanced transparency of nuclear arsenals around the world.
Regarding the scandal marked by kickback money from fund-raising parties for factional politicians in the LDP, he emphasized, “Those of us engaged in politics must always act with a sense of caution and continue to address this problem.” In his position as LDP president, Mr. Kishida vowed that “the entire party will unite to resolve the issue with a strong sense of crisis.”
In November of last year, Japan’s national government recommended the “Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing” to UNESCO as a candidate for registration with that organization’s Memory of the World program. The materials were originally nominated to the national government by Hiroshima City and five media organizations, including the Chugoku Shimbun. “The information represents a valuable record created by citizens that experienced the atomic bombing as well as photojournalists,” said the prime minister. “To convey the reality of the atomic bombing to future generations, such efforts to pass on traces and records of the A-bombing are truly important.”
(Originally published on January 1, 2024)
At the onset of the new year, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sat down to an interview with Tetsuya Okahata, president of the Chugoku Shimbun, at the prime minister’s official residence. In the interview, Mr. Kishida stressed his aim to deliver tangible results in 2024 in prioritized policy areas, including the economy. Asked about the handling of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s persistent politics and money scandal, he replied he would “take the lead” on handling the issue. He also mentioned his goal of striving to achieve international registration of the “Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing—Photographs and films in 1945” with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) program known as “Memory of the World.”
The prime minister emphasized his desire to deliver results related to the economy, his major area of focus, by successfully breaking away from deflation and delivering wage hikes. He repeated his promise to make concrete progress in other items of his agenda, including measures to reverse the continued decline in the nation’s birthrate, engage in summit diplomacy with global leaders, formulate energy policy, and expand defense capabilities.
Reflecting on the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations), held in Hiroshima in May last year, Mr. Kishida said, “We were able to come to a consensus about our shared desire to seek a world without nuclear weapons,” adding his belief that “displaying a roadmap to achieve such a goal was a major responsibility for government.” He also vowed to make good on his own Hiroshima Action Plan, a policy formulated around five pillars, including enhanced transparency of nuclear arsenals around the world.
Regarding the scandal marked by kickback money from fund-raising parties for factional politicians in the LDP, he emphasized, “Those of us engaged in politics must always act with a sense of caution and continue to address this problem.” In his position as LDP president, Mr. Kishida vowed that “the entire party will unite to resolve the issue with a strong sense of crisis.”
In November of last year, Japan’s national government recommended the “Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing” to UNESCO as a candidate for registration with that organization’s Memory of the World program. The materials were originally nominated to the national government by Hiroshima City and five media organizations, including the Chugoku Shimbun. “The information represents a valuable record created by citizens that experienced the atomic bombing as well as photojournalists,” said the prime minister. “To convey the reality of the atomic bombing to future generations, such efforts to pass on traces and records of the A-bombing are truly important.”
(Originally published on January 1, 2024)
