Kishida Vows Efforts to Improve Global Nuke Transparency

Tokyo, May 24 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed Wednesday to make efforts to improve the transparency of nuclear arsenals around the world, based on an agreement reached at the Group of Seven summit in the western Japan city of Hiroshima that ended Sunday.

"The G-7 nations agreed to increase transparency" over nuclear weapons, Kishida told a House of Representatives committee meeting.

"We will expand the initiative beyond the G-7 members to create a foundation of trust in the international community," he said, suggesting that the group aims for the initiative to include other nuclear powers such as China and Russia, as well.

The prime minister made the remarks in response to a question from a lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

At the start of the Lower House committee meeting, Kishida gave a report on the G-7 summit, saying that the summit achieved "great results" in building a free and open international order based on the rule of law and in showing the world the reality of being hit by a nuclear bomb.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]