G7外相会合
「広島宣言」まとめ 共同声明発表し閉幕
毎日新聞2016年4月11日 15時10分(最終更新 4月11日 17時10分)
Hiroshima (CNN) — Secretary of State John Kerry's arrival to Hiroshima for a G7 meeting with his foreign counterparts marks the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to the city, where the U.S. became the only country to use a nuclear weapon during World War II.
Looming over the two days of talks between Kerry and other G7 foreign ministers is the location itself, which was devastated when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city in August 1945. The bomb, which led to the end of World War II, killed 140,000 people.
Three days later, the U.S. dropped a second bomb on the port city of Nagasaki, killing about 70,000 people.
But a senior State Department official traveling with Kerry said America's top diplomat will not issue an apology for its use of nuclear weapons and the devastation it causes.
"If you are asking whether the secretary of state came to Hiroshima to apologize, the answer is no," the official said. "If you are asking whether the secretary -- and I think all Americans and all Japanese -- are filled with sorrow at the tragedies that befell so many of our countrymen, the answer is yes."
Kerry, though, did seek to use his visit to "recognize the huge loss of life" that occurred during the war, said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.
Kerry and the other ministers will visit Peace Memorial Park, a World War II memorial and museum that has become a symbol for nuclear disarmament.
"It is also an acknowledgment that since the end of World War II that the United States and Japan have become the closest of friends and strong allies," Toner said.
The Japanese government and public hope the location of the summit in Hiroshima will foster better understanding among nations about Japan's staunch nuclear stance.
Recent comments by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump proposing arming Japan and South Korea with nuclear weapons have raised eyebrows here in the country.
And Kerry's trip to Hiroshima could pave the way for President Barack Obama to visit the city next month, when he travels to Japan for the G7 leaders summit. The senior State Department official said the White House had not made a formal decision.
The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries -- in addition to the U.S. -- includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
The Syrian civil war, the migrant crisis facing Europe and violence in Ukraine were some of the topics discussed during the first day of talks, aides traveling with Kerry said.
Kerry also led a discussion about the political chaos in Iraq and Afghanistan, after having visited both countries this week. The fight against ISIS also dominated the discussions. Some of the European members are grappling with security challenges in the aftermath of recent terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris.
But Japan hopes to highlight pressing concerns in Asia, including China's activities in the South China Sea and the North Korean nuclear threat.
On Sunday, Kerry and the other ministers paid a visit to the seaside Itsukushima shrine that dates to the late sixth century, one of Japan's most well-known cultural sites.
10日に広島市で開幕した主要7カ国(G7)外相会合は11日、核軍縮・不拡散問題などについて討議し、「核のない世界」に向けたG7の決意を表明する「広島宣言」を取りまとめた。会合は同日午後、議長を務める岸田文雄外相が共同声明などを発表し、閉幕した。
広島宣言は、外相会合として初めて核軍縮・不拡散に特化した独立文書。政治指導者に被爆地の広島や長崎への訪問を促す一方、原爆投下を「極めて甚大な壊滅と非人間的な苦難」と表現し、核軍縮の必要性を訴えた。
また、核保有5大国のうち、保有実態の不透明さが指摘される中国を念頭に、透明性の向上を求めた。
共同声明では、欧州で頻発するテロの深刻化を受け、5月の主要国首脳会議(伊勢志摩サミット)までに「G7テロ対策行動計画」を作成し、サミットで採択することを盛り込んだ。
Hiroshima: Japan remembers atomic bombing, 70 years on
6 August 2015 Last updated at 17:57 BST
Thousands of people in Japan paused, lowered their heads, and stood in silence to remember one of the most shocking attacks the world has ever witnessed.
At that exact moment, 70 years ago, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima by the Unites States, killing at least 14,000 people.
At a remembrance ceremony, the Japanese prime minister made a new appeal for the world to rid itself of nuclear weapons.
Fergal Keane reports.