Khaldon Azhari

HIROSHIMA: With the G7 Summit set to get underway in Hiroshima, most have shown their displeasure at seeing the world’s leaders, while several demonstrations have been organized under the banner “Oppose G7 Summit in Hiroshima!”

One day before holding the G7 summit, about 100 demonstrators took to the streets denouncing the G7 and its “war” policies.

Protesters demanded US president Joe Biden apologize for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They also opposed the planned opening of a NATO office in Tokyo, saying this has reinforced the idea that Japan and other foreign powers are trying to make an organization equivalent to NATO in Asia.

They also accused Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio of encouraging, through G7, the Philippines and Vietnam to oppose China and boost military power in Japan’s southern islands.

However, many of the protesters seem to have adopted a scattergun approach to their protests, which include: Stopping Ukraine War; No Aggressive War on China; Crush the G7 Summit; Down with Kishida Government; Stop Military Buildup and Nuclear Armament; No G7 Imperialist Summit; No Nuclear War; Kishida should make an apology for invading Asian nations during the war; and the slightly oblique Not in Hiroshima’s Name.

Demonstrations have been organized in various locations around Hiroshima, the venue for the Summit, including a protest against the shutting of a potential demonstration site, the Hiroshima Peace Park. This initiated a “Demonstration against G7 leaders’ visit to the Peace Park,” which seemed to be at odds with the demonstrators’ anti-nuclear and anti-war themes.

As compensation, the demo organizers are putting on a more rigorous alternative: “Crush the G7 Summit” at a Community Cultural Center. It will be followed by what is claimed to be an “International Rally against War” and, on the final day of the Summit, the “Demonstration against the G7 Leaders’ Communique,” which hasn’t been written yet.

The fliers for the demos say the cosponsors of these events are the “August 6 Hiroshima Grand Action Organizing Committee” and the “Grand Workers March to Stop Constitutional Revision and War.”

Not to be outdone, the slightly less demonstrative “Hiroshima Citizen Association to Think about the G7 Summit” is taking action with its “Hiroshima Citizen March for G7 Summit to listen to voices of atomic bombings survivors.”

They aim to raise awareness about the need for nuclear disarmament. Organizers say it is crucial to emphasize the importance of joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and they want Japan and the G7 to send a message that peace cannot be achieved through nuclear weapons.