Editorial: Two years on, has Hiroshima Summit lost its significance?
May 20, 2025
It already feels like a long time ago. Two years ago yesterday, the A-bombed city of Hiroshima drew global attention with the opening of the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations).
G7 leaders, including those representing the nuclear powers of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, paid a visit to Peace Memorial Park and made an offering of flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, an occasion that will surely go down in history. It was also a highlight for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was elected from the local area.
We believe the summit being held in the first city to have been devastated by a nuclear weapon in human history was of great significance. However, its outcome fell far short of the expectations of Hiroshima’s people, who had hoped for a clear path toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. Even today, looking back on the meeting, we cannot help but think the root of the problem was left untouched.
One of the documents resulting from the summit, the “Hiroshima Vision,” effectively accepted the possession of nuclear weapons by the three nuclear weapons states of the U.S., the U.K., and France. Far from pursuing nuclear abolition, the document clung to the theory of nuclear deterrence and failed to even mention the groundbreaking Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). At the conclusion of the summit, Mr. Kishida said, “We need to make steady progress toward a future of a world without nuclear weapons.” In consideration of the halt in momentum regarding that goal in Japan and around the world over the past two years makes one wonder if it was all just talk. The unease that A-bomb survivors harbor about the summit has not been dispelled.
The global situation remains uncertain. Ukraine has been unable to make progress in ceasefire negotiations with Russia, and war has spread once again in the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip. Given such harsh realities, how effective is the political legacy of the Hiroshima Summit? Has the Hiroshima Vision, which lacks specifics on nuclear disarmament, already turned into a dead letter of sorts?
The leaders who convened in Hiroshima for the G7 summit have withdrawn from the political arena one by one, with only those from France and Italy still holding office. U.S. President Joseph Biden was forced to abandon his bid for a second term. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were all forced to leave office due to political deadlocks in their respective countries. Mr. Kishida, too, resigned as prime minister over issues involving politics and money.
Furthermore, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who participated in the extended meeting of the G7, was impeached for declaring “martial law” and lost his job. The base of support for Prime Minister Shri Modi of India, a nuclear weapons state, has weakened in his own country. Although he ultimately agreed to a ceasefire, Mr. Modi did not hesitate to fight with Pakistan, another nuclear state.
These leaders surely witnessed the A-bomb artifacts exhibited in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, even if only a limited number of items, and listened to an account described by an A-bomb survivor. It is disheartening that their experience in Hiroshima and determination for peace have not been put to good use. Is the Hiroshima Summit fading from the memory of the international community?
At its core, the G7 framework of cooperation is now being shaken by current U.S. President Donald Trump, who has unilaterally tightened tariffs. It is not hard to imagine discussions about tariffs dominating the next G7 summit meeting, scheduled to be held in Canada this June, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the first meeting. Now, 80 years after the atomic bombings, a fresh start is needed in the discussions involving nuclear weapons.
Current Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who will attend the G7 summit for the first time, must not retreat from the attitude and enthusiasm of the previous Kishida administration. As leader of the A-bombed country of Japan, Mr. Ishiba should refocus the attention of each of the countries and heighten momentum toward eliminating nuclear weapons. We hope that the prime minister will once again lobby Mr. Trump and the other leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki and learn about the reality of nuclear war.
(Originally published on May 20, 2025)
G7 leaders, including those representing the nuclear powers of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, paid a visit to Peace Memorial Park and made an offering of flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, an occasion that will surely go down in history. It was also a highlight for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was elected from the local area.
We believe the summit being held in the first city to have been devastated by a nuclear weapon in human history was of great significance. However, its outcome fell far short of the expectations of Hiroshima’s people, who had hoped for a clear path toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. Even today, looking back on the meeting, we cannot help but think the root of the problem was left untouched.
One of the documents resulting from the summit, the “Hiroshima Vision,” effectively accepted the possession of nuclear weapons by the three nuclear weapons states of the U.S., the U.K., and France. Far from pursuing nuclear abolition, the document clung to the theory of nuclear deterrence and failed to even mention the groundbreaking Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). At the conclusion of the summit, Mr. Kishida said, “We need to make steady progress toward a future of a world without nuclear weapons.” In consideration of the halt in momentum regarding that goal in Japan and around the world over the past two years makes one wonder if it was all just talk. The unease that A-bomb survivors harbor about the summit has not been dispelled.
The global situation remains uncertain. Ukraine has been unable to make progress in ceasefire negotiations with Russia, and war has spread once again in the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip. Given such harsh realities, how effective is the political legacy of the Hiroshima Summit? Has the Hiroshima Vision, which lacks specifics on nuclear disarmament, already turned into a dead letter of sorts?
The leaders who convened in Hiroshima for the G7 summit have withdrawn from the political arena one by one, with only those from France and Italy still holding office. U.S. President Joseph Biden was forced to abandon his bid for a second term. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were all forced to leave office due to political deadlocks in their respective countries. Mr. Kishida, too, resigned as prime minister over issues involving politics and money.
Furthermore, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who participated in the extended meeting of the G7, was impeached for declaring “martial law” and lost his job. The base of support for Prime Minister Shri Modi of India, a nuclear weapons state, has weakened in his own country. Although he ultimately agreed to a ceasefire, Mr. Modi did not hesitate to fight with Pakistan, another nuclear state.
These leaders surely witnessed the A-bomb artifacts exhibited in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, even if only a limited number of items, and listened to an account described by an A-bomb survivor. It is disheartening that their experience in Hiroshima and determination for peace have not been put to good use. Is the Hiroshima Summit fading from the memory of the international community?
At its core, the G7 framework of cooperation is now being shaken by current U.S. President Donald Trump, who has unilaterally tightened tariffs. It is not hard to imagine discussions about tariffs dominating the next G7 summit meeting, scheduled to be held in Canada this June, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the first meeting. Now, 80 years after the atomic bombings, a fresh start is needed in the discussions involving nuclear weapons.
Current Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who will attend the G7 summit for the first time, must not retreat from the attitude and enthusiasm of the previous Kishida administration. As leader of the A-bombed country of Japan, Mr. Ishiba should refocus the attention of each of the countries and heighten momentum toward eliminating nuclear weapons. We hope that the prime minister will once again lobby Mr. Trump and the other leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki and learn about the reality of nuclear war.
(Originally published on May 20, 2025)
