Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, is flanked by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, left, and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue, at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Nov. 18, 2021. (Mainichi/Kan Takeuchi)

       TOKYO -- The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki met Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Nov. 18 and called on the Japanese government to take part in the conference of parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons set for March next year.

       It was the first time for a sitting Japanese prime minister to have met the mayors of the two atomic-bombed cities at the same time since then Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto did so in 1996.

       During their visit to the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue called on Kishida, who was elected from Hiroshima, to push for efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.

       In response, Kishida told the mayors that he intends to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear nations.

       "It is important to consider how to approach the treaty after establishing a relationship of trust with the United States. I'd like to think about it while cautiously following procedure," Kishida said.

       According to Mayor Taue, Kishida also stated, "Even if Japan suddenly makes an appearance, it may not work out well (in terms of efforts toward nuclear weapons abolition)."

       (Japanese original by Shun Kawaguchi, Political News Department)

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