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Japan Vows to Do Everything Possible to Protect Dignitaries

by VOA News

   Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised Sunday that his country
   will do everything possible to ensure the safety of the Group of Seven
   leaders and ministers meeting in Japan this month.

   "We have to make every effort to ensure security and safety ... [as]
   dignitaries from all over the world gather," Kishida told reporters
   Sunday.

   His pledge came a day after a suspect threw an apparent smoke bomb in
   western Japan as Kishida was delivering an address in support of a
   local politician.

   The prime minister was not hurt in the incident. A suspect has been
   arrested.

   G-7 foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony
   Blinken, began three days of talks Sunday in the central Japanese town
   of Karuizawa.