Access to Hiroshima Summit Island Venue Restricted

With the summit meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations set to start on Friday in Hiroshima, the Foreign Ministry on Monday began restricting access to Ujina Island in the city’s Minami Ward, where the main venue of the summit Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima is located. The road leading to the island will be closed off until Sunday, the final day of the summit, in cooperation with the Hiroshima prefectural police and other authorities.

A fence was erected about 200 meters north of the only bridge that connects the island with the city center from 3:00 p.m. Monday, and a security checkpoint was opened nearby to inspect the identity and personal belongings for people to gain access.

At the checkpoint, about 1,500 residents of the island and businesses that transport materials to the hotel among others will present identification cards issued in advance and have their belongings checked with metal detectors.

Takaoki Kado, a 80-year-old chairman of the island’s neighborhood association, said, “Tension is rising, but I hope it will end safely.”