Documenting Hiroshima 80 years after the A-bombing: On May 19, 2023, leaders of G7 lay flowers at Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims
Jun. 3, 2025
by Michio Shimotaka, Staff Writer
On May 19, 2023, the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations) opened in Hiroshima. Hiroshima prefectural and municipal governments, along with economic organizations, had invited the summit to be held in the city, making it the first time the atomic-bombed city hosted the event. Leaders of the participating nations, including nuclear weapons states such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, as well as the European Union, paid a visit to Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward and made offerings of flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.
“We will pledge to the world that the horror caused by nuclear weapons should never be repeated. I hope to confirm that the G7 leaders will unite to protect peace, the present world order, and our shared values.” In May 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Hiroshima would host the summit at a joint press conference following his meeting in Tokyo with U.S. President Joe Biden. The decision also came in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The nuclear weapons state launched the attack in February.
On opening day, the leaders’ motorcades arrived one after another at Peace Memorial Park, which had previously been closed to the public. They then proceeded to the Peace Memorial Museum’s East Building, which had been temporarily closed. The glass walls on the first floor of the building were covered with white fabric. Finally, Prime Minister Kishida and President Biden entered, and they remained there for 40 minutes.
Inside the building, closed to the media, Keiko Ogura, 87, an A-bomb survivor from Naka Ward, met with the leaders. She was exposed to the A-bombing near her home, about 2.4 kilometers from the hypocenter, when eight years old. For about 40 years, she has continued sharing her testimony. No restrictions were placed on what she would say beforehand. Without a prepared manuscript, she spoke in English about her experiences of the A-bombing and the devastation in Hiroshima.
(Originally published on June 3, 2025)
On May 19, 2023, the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations) opened in Hiroshima. Hiroshima prefectural and municipal governments, along with economic organizations, had invited the summit to be held in the city, making it the first time the atomic-bombed city hosted the event. Leaders of the participating nations, including nuclear weapons states such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, as well as the European Union, paid a visit to Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward and made offerings of flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.
“We will pledge to the world that the horror caused by nuclear weapons should never be repeated. I hope to confirm that the G7 leaders will unite to protect peace, the present world order, and our shared values.” In May 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Hiroshima would host the summit at a joint press conference following his meeting in Tokyo with U.S. President Joe Biden. The decision also came in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The nuclear weapons state launched the attack in February.
On opening day, the leaders’ motorcades arrived one after another at Peace Memorial Park, which had previously been closed to the public. They then proceeded to the Peace Memorial Museum’s East Building, which had been temporarily closed. The glass walls on the first floor of the building were covered with white fabric. Finally, Prime Minister Kishida and President Biden entered, and they remained there for 40 minutes.
Inside the building, closed to the media, Keiko Ogura, 87, an A-bomb survivor from Naka Ward, met with the leaders. She was exposed to the A-bombing near her home, about 2.4 kilometers from the hypocenter, when eight years old. For about 40 years, she has continued sharing her testimony. No restrictions were placed on what she would say beforehand. Without a prepared manuscript, she spoke in English about her experiences of the A-bombing and the devastation in Hiroshima.
(Originally published on June 3, 2025)
