Hiroshima Nuclear Abolition Meeting Starts for 2-Day Run

Hiroshima, Dec. 10 (Jiji Press)--A two-day international meeting for a world without nuclear weapons began in the city of Hiroshima, western Japan, on Saturday, bringing together experts from both nuclear and nonnuclear states.

This is the first meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons, or IGEP, held at the initiative of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose constituency is in Hiroshima, which was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, toward the end of World War II.

In a message sent to Saturday's session. Kishida said a world without nuclear weapons must be pursued no matter how difficult it may be. He asked participants to put forward specific ways to help the world get closer to the goal.

Citing Russia's threat to use nuclear weapons in its aggression of Ukraine and North Korea's continuing nuclear and missile programs, Kishida said that realizing nuclear disarmament has become even more difficult.

Kishida stressed that he will continue to bring up the issue to bridge the gap between the ideal and the reality. He will attend the meeting in person on Sunday.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]