Japanese prime minister to meet Pope Francis, discuss nuclear weapons

The prime minister Fumio Kishida met Pope Francis on Wednesday, with the goal of realizing a world free of nuclear weapons, as well as Russia's war against Ukraine likely on the agenda.

The visit by the leader of the only country to suffer the devastation of atomic bombings comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin raised fears that he may use nuclear weapons as the war drags on.

The meeting is the first between a Japanese prime minister and a pope since 2014 at the Vatican.

Francis has been vocal about ending nuclear weapons, including his 2019 addresses in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two Japanese cities where the United States detonated atomic bombs in World War II.

After meeting with Francis, Kishida will hold talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi during which Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be a major agenda item, according to Japanese officials.

Kishida has been on an eight-day tour of five countries in Southeast Asia and Europe since Friday. He is scheduled to hold talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday.

The trip, which has taken him to Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, comes in advance of a summit of the Group of Seven major developed countries to be held in Germany in June.

With the two leaders of the European countries that are part of the G7, Kishida will discuss their response to the war, including humanitarian aid for Ukraine and punitive measures against Russia and North Korea, which fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Kishida wants to strengthen cooperation toward a free and open Indo-Pacific region in the face of China's rising assertiveness in regional waters.