People protest ‘imperialist summit’ as G7 leaders meet in Hiroshima

Hundreds of people have protested in Hiroshima where the US-led Group of Seven leaders met to stiffen sanctions on Russia, provide further support for Ukraine and discuss growing tensions with China. 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who holds the rotating G7 presidency, met with US President Joe Biden ahead of the summit that runs until Sunday. Officials said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would attend in person over the weekend. 

In a joint statement on Friday, they said existing measures against Russia would be broadened and any exports that could help it in its 15-month war with Ukraine would be restricted across the G7 countries.

“This includes exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine,” they said, adding they would also try to restrict Russian revenues from trade in metals and diamonds.

Members of the G7 include the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy.

Ahead of the summit, Kishida and Biden discussed further strengthening what they called the deterrence of the Japan-US alliance and decided to develop Japan-US-South Korea cooperation.

“Biden is in the land of Hiroshima and he’s brought a button along to fire a nuclear missile, I cannot forgive him for this. He needs to apologise to the people in Hiroshima,” protester and labor union member surnamed Niishima told Reuters. 

Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in Japan’s lower house of parliament, said he chose the city for the summit to focus attention on arms control.

Hiroshima, and another Japanese city, Nagasaki, were destroyed by US nuclear attacks 78 years ago. The aerial bombings together killed up to 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.  

Hiroshima has become the scene of angry protests, condemning the “imperialist summit”, with police officers from across the country patrolling the area.