G-7 leaders visit World Heritage shrine, dine at traditional inn

May 20, 2023 | News On Japan

HIROSHIMA - The leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations visited a small island in Hiroshima Bay containing a world heritage shrine and sat down to a working dinner at a traditional hot-spring inn there at the end of the first day of their summit Friday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other leaders arrived at Miyajima Island, a popular tourist destination in the Seto Inland Sea, on a cruiser, while U.S. President Joe Biden arrived separately in a helicopter.

The leaders posed for the traditional summit family photo before the large "torii" gate of the Itsukushima Shrine. "Gagaku" music traditionally performed there was played as they listened to a briefing on the history of the shrine, which, according to its website, was established on the site in 593.

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