The G7 leaders and US Vice President Joe Biden visited a 1,400-year-old shrine in Hiroshima, Japan, on Saturday, according to the White House.
The White House tweeted, “President Biden toured the 1,400-year-old Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima with G7 leaders.” The 1,400-year-old shrine is situated on the Itsukushima (often referred to as Miyajima) island. Its “floating” torii gate is its most distinctive feature.
It can be reached by ferry from the mainland and is situated in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.
G7 leaders placed wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan’s Hiroshima on Friday. Additionally, they planted trees at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
The G7 leaders gathered for a photo after laying wreaths at the Hiroshima Memorial.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, US President Joe Biden, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida posed for the photo.
The sole building still remaining in the region, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (Genbaku Dome), depicts the aftermath of the city being hit by the first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945.
The G7 Summit, to be held in Hiroshima from May 19–21, is why the G7 leaders are now in Japan. Of note, Japan took over as G7 President in 2023.
The G7 Summit is an annual gathering of the heads of state of the European Union (EU), France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada (in that order, according to the rotation of the G7 chair).
Notably, the G7 alliance includes Germany, Canada, France, the US, the UK, Japan, Italy, and Canada. According to the announcement, leaders from Australia, Brazil, Comoros, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Vietnam have been invited by Japan as part of their G7 Presidency.
Additionally, on Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew out to Japan to attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima.
In a statement issued before to his departure, PM Modi said that he would go to Japan to attend the G7 Summit at the request of Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan.
He said that the fact that India is now holding the G20 Presidency makes his attendance at the G7 Summit more significant.