Next-Generation Symposium at Hiroshima Orizuru Tower(G7 Hiroshima Summit Partners’ Program, Day 1)

On May 19, Mrs. KISHIDA Yuko, the Spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan, and the G7 leaders’ partners participated in the Next-Generation Symposium held at Hiroshima Orizuru Tower. The G7 leaders’ partners who joined this event were (1) Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States of America, (2)Mrs. Britta Ernst, the Spouse of Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, (3)Mrs. Akshata Murty, the Spouse of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and (4)Prof. Dr. Heiko Echter von der Leyen, the Spouse of the President of the European Commission.

1. Date and time: Friday, May 19, 17:30 to 18:30
2. Venue: Orizuru Square, 12th floor of Hiroshima Orizuru Tower
3. Co-organizers: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Hiroshima Organization for
   Global Peace (HOPe), Hiroshima Office, United Nations Institute for
   Training and Research (UNITAR)
4. Speakers:
   AI, singer and official UNICEF volunteer
   Yuji Sasaki, Board Vice Chair, NPO Sadako Legacy
   Kenta Sumioka, Managing Director, NPO Peace Culture Village
   Yosuke Nagai, CEO and Founder, NPO Accept International
   Tetsuya Matsuda, Chairman and CEO, Hiroshima Mazda, Co., Ltd.

1. At the symposium, Mrs. KISHIDA gave an address, saying that not only G7 leaders and their partners but also each and every person is an equally an important player for peace building. She also hoped that the circle of prayer for peace would spread from the younger generation in Hiroshima to the world and that participants would gain new insights into their approaches to peace and advance their steps toward peace.
2. The spouses then engaged in a dialogue about peacebuilding with the speakers and the young people of Hiroshima who participated in the symposium. When the spouses asked what "peace" means for them, many hands raised from the participants, and they expressed their opinions one after another in their own words, such as "to wish each other happiness" and "to be able to live one's own way,” making it a very lively event.
3. During the symposium, singer AI, who has been implementing the “Lasting Peace” project as a UNICEF official volunteer, made a surprise appearance and sang “Lean on Me” a cappella with the participants, including the spouses. The venue was filled with a warm atmosphere of unity.
4. Mrs. Kishida wore an eco-friendly Japanese sustainable fashion with low CO ₂ emissions, knitted from 100% recycled yarn derived from plastic bottles, as a message for a sustainable future created with the next generation.

(Reference)

1. Orizuru Tower is an observation tower located in Hiroshima City. Originally, it was a building owned by a Japan’s major insurance company, later purchased by the automobile dealer Hiroshima Mazda (headquartered in Hiroshima), and rebuilt into this tower in 2016. Visitors can enjoy eating/drinking in a cafe and shopping for souvenirs at a store there. The tower was built to send a message of peace from Hiroshima City to the world.
2. “Lean on Me” is a masterpiece song by an American singer-songwriter Bill Withers and has been covered by many artists. The song appeals to the importance of sharing the pain and suffering people have, supporting each other, and being there for people in distress, a message that AI would like to share with the youth of Hiroshima and the rest of the world.