Hiroshima, Japan – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement at the conclusion of the G8 Speakers’ Conference held in Tokyo and Hiroshima, Japan, August 31 to September 2. In addition to formal sessions, Pelosi and the other G8 members met with His Majesty Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
“I was pleased to join my colleagues in the G8 in Hiroshima to discuss the critical issues of interparliamentary cooperation on nuclear weapons matters.
“Controlling nuclear proliferation and reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles have bipartisan agreement in the United States.
“On nuclear proliferation, the fight against terrorism, climate change or the need for increased communication among legislatures, the message from our gathering was clear: a peaceful and prosperous future requires increased international engagement among the leading nations of the world.”
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As part of the conference, today Speaker Pelosi and the other conference participants visited the Hiroshima Cenotaph and Peace Memorial Museum -- following in the tradition of former U.S. Ambassadors Mike Mansfield, Walter Mondale, Thomas Foley, and Howard Baker as well as current U.S. Ambassador John Thomas Schieffer. Speaker Pelosi entered the following inscription in the visitors’ register at the Museum:
“The visit to Hiroshima is a powerful reminder of the destructiveness of war, underscoring the urgency for all nations to promote peace and to build a better world.”
