Elementary School Children Experience G7 Atmosphere on After-Summit Tour

The three-day G7Hiroshima Summit, which took place from May 19-21, is now part of history. Beginning on May 24, invited members of the public visited a Summit-related facilitiy over the course of four days in an After-summit Tour. The event, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Citizens Council for the Hiroshima Summit, welcomed elementary, junior, and senior high school students in Hiroshima Prefecture, as well as local citizens and business owners, other related individuals, and invited members of the public. Participants toured part of the International Media Center (IMC)—housed within the Hiroshima Prefectural Sports Center—where about 10,000 members of domestic and overseas media outlets handled reporting interviewing and editing. The tour also covered the public relations exhibit set up by the Japanese government at the IMC, as well as the Hiroshima Information Center, giving participants a sense of the Summit atmosphere.

The opening ceremony on May 24 welcomed school children and their teachers, 33 in all, from Hiroshima Municipal Motoujina Elementary School, located near the Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima in Minami Ward which served as the main Summit venue. The ceremony began with opening remarks by Mizobuchi Masashi, MOFA’s Deputy Secretary-General for the G7 Hiroshima Summit, and Yamane Takeshi, Secretary-General of the Citizens Council for the Hiroshima Summit.

Deputy Secretary-General Mizobuchi expressed his appreciation for the support extended by Hiroshima residents. “The great success of this event, from both a diplomatic and operational standpoint, was largely due to the cooperation of each and every resident of Motoujina as well as Hiroshima City and Prefecture.” He also voiced delight at the event’s success. “The Summit was tremendously significant, impacted by the heartfelt welcome from residents of this city that suffered atomic bombing and everyone’s hope for peace.” He also stressed that “the Summit played a meaningful role in introducing the charms of Hiroshima, including its industries, nature, food, and culture, to the world.”

Secretary-General Yamane shared his own appreciation that “students of Motoujina Elementary School carried out the important role of delivering flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in the Peace Memorial Park,” adding his desire for the children’s future. “I hope that your participation in the Summit will encourage you to take an interest in the activities of people around the world, and to become individuals who will themselves take an active role on the global stage.”

The children first listened to a MOFA official describe the G7 Hiroshima Summit. They learned about the content and outcome of the leaders’ discussions during the Summit, which were divided into nine topics, including diplomacy and security, as well as the situation in Ukraine. Students also learned that, during the three-day Summit, the heads of state issued the G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué, and five separate statements including the G7 Leaders’ Statement on Ukraine and the G7 Leaders’ Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament. The children studied a pamphlet created by MOFA and watched a video of Summit highlights while listening intently to the talk.

The children then proceeded to the exhibit of theNational Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties. The experience-based exhibition preformed projection mapping on high-resolution reproduction of two folding screens that are national treasures— ‘Amusement under the Blossoms’ and ‘Pine Forest’—enabling the students to appreciate the rich world of scenes painted by famed Japanese artists on folding screens with their five senses.

Next, at the Hiroshima Information Center, the children viewed various peace-related exhibits as well as extensive displays of specialty products and traditional crafts from across the prefecture, including Kumano brushes, Miyoshi dolls, Hiroshima sewing needles, denim, and Japanese sake. Their attention was caught by a drone manufactured by a Hiroshima-based company, as well as by replicas of the A-bombed artifacts from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, all of which they viewed while taking notes studiously.

The Japanese government’s PR exhibit area featured Fukushima Prefecture’s panel display summarizing recovery efforts in areas impacted by the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Reconstruction Agency’s exhibit on Japanese sake and sweets produced in the afflicted areas, and a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) corner illuminating international space exploration initiatives such as the Lunar Polar Exploration Vehicle (LUPEX) project. The children diligently listened to explanations by staff and wrote done their own impressions. At the NHK Hiroshima Broadcasting Station booth, students experienced the latest technology used to convey the atomic bomb experience, including a VR device enabling a “virtual visit” to the interior of the Atomic Dome, which is not open to the public, and a large-screen projection of an atomic bomb survivor which incorporated AI to allow interaction with visitors posing questions. The children were introduced to these latest technologies that help ensure that the A-bomb experience will never be forgotten.

The final stop on the children’s tour was to a corner displaying the round table and chairs used by the G7 leaders during the Summit. Children compared the wooden nameplates featuring the leaders’ names, while competing to sit in the various chairs, savoring the feeling of being a head of state. This display area was lined with flags from participating nations and organizations and large panels with photos detailing the scenes with participating heads of state, including Prime Minister Kishida and President Zelenskyy laying flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. The students’ eyes were fixed on the displays as they chattered animatedly. At the end of the tour, children encircled the round table for a commemorative photo, smiling broadly.

Kimura Ryosuke, a sixth grader (aged 11), was asked what impressed him most by a member of the surrounding media after the tour. Kimura indicated a large objet d’art featuring a pair of transparent praying hands filled with collected origami birds in a rainbow of colors. “I learned how important peace is,” he explained. Masashige Hayato (aged 11), also a sixth grader, reflected on life during the G7, declaring that, “it was difficult not being able to go outside, but I understood that something important enough to require lots of police was happening.” He also commented on the experience of sitting in the Prime Minister’s chair. “It was comfortable.” Regarding his future wishes, he added that “I want to study more about peace.”