Hiroshima, Sendai to Host Ministerial Talks Linked to 2016 Summit

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)--Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday that Japan will hold next year's meeting of foreign ministers of major countries in the city of Hiroshima and a meeting of finance ministers in Sendai, both precursors to the May 2016 summit among the nations in Shima, Mie Prefecture, central Japan. Abe announced the venues for the ministerial gatherings at a cabinet meeting. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and other relevant cabinet ministers unveiled this at their respective press conferences. Hiroshima, which was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb in the closing days of World War II, was selected as the host of the foreign ministers' meeting to emphasize Japan's efforts for nuclear disarmament. Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, was chosen for the meeting of finance ministers to showcase progress in reconstruction after the March 2011 powerful earthquake and tsunami, which hit the Tohoku northeastern Japan region. Miyagi is one of the three hardest-hit prefectures. "The city of Hiroshima, reborn from the atomic bombing, is a symbol of peace and hope," Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, a House of Representatives member elected from a constituency in Hiroshima Prefecture, said. "The city is an appropriate place for the foreign ministers from major countries to hold heart-to-heart talks and send out their message for peace," Kishida added. Suga said that the meeting will provide a good opportunity for participating ministers to see the reality of the atomic bombing. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso said, "Sendai is a good place for the finance chiefs' meeting as the city is a symbol of the reconstruction of Tohoku." Sendai was picked also because it has hosted major international meetings in the past, including a general meeting of the International Monetary Fund in October 2012 and the third U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March this year. In a related development, the government set up a team on Friday to make preparations for the series of 2016 meetings, including the summit, set for May 26-27. The team is headed by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiro Sugita and include senior officials of relevant government agencies such as the Foreign Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the National Police Agency and the Reconstruction Agency. The results of the meetings of foreign and finance ministers will be reflected in discussions at the subsequent meeting among the leaders of the major nations, also including the United States. The government is set to accelerate work on selecting the venues for other related ministerial meetings, including a gathering of environment ministers. END