Obama begins historic visit

Security tight as world leaders hold key talks

US President Barack Obama arrived in Japan yesterday for a Group of Seven summit, kicking off a historic visit that will also take him to the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima.

Obama was joining other leaders from the club of rich democracies for a gathering set to be dominated by the lacklustre state of the global economy.

Heads of state and government from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and host Japan were also making their way to Ise Shima, a mountainous and sparsely populated area 300km southwest of Tokyo.

Security was tight across the region, with thousands of extra police drafted in to patrol train stations and ferry terminals, and to direct traffic on the usually quiet roads during the two-day meeting.

Tokyo said it was taking no chances in the wake of terror attacks that struck Paris and Brussels in recent months.

Dustbins have been removed or sealed and coin-operated lockers blocked at train and subway stations in the capital and areas around the venue site.

Authorities said they would be keeping a close eye on soft targets, such as theatres and stadiums. However, unlike in many other rich democracies, protests are unlikely to cause much of a security headache.

One left-wing demonstration organised for yesterday morning and focused mostly on Japan’s politics attracted only a handful of largely elderly protesters.

British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived later.

He was set for a one-on-one meeting later with the summit host, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe was also due to meet Obama, whose visit to Hiroshima tomorrow threatens to overshadow the summit itself.

Obama will become the first sitting US leader to travel to the city, the site of the world’s first nuclear attack, on August 6 1945.

Obama has spent the last few days in Vietnam, where on Tuesday he urged the communist authorities to embrace human rights and abandon authoritarianism.

France’s Francois Hollande and Germany’s Angela Merkel are expected early today.

The meeting will also be joined by Italy’s Matteo Renzi and Canada’s Justin Trudeau.

A small crowd of well-wishers gathered within sight of the helicopter landing pad to which leaders were being ferried, hoping for a glimpse of one of the stars of the geopolitical stage.

The leaders will spend this morning at Ise Jingu, a huge shrine complex that sits at the spiritual heart of Japan’s native Shintoism.

The sputtering global economy is expected to take centre stage in the formal talks which begin later today, although divisions are likely to remain over whether the world should spend or save its way out of the current malaise.

Although China, the world’s second largest economy, will not be present, it looks set to loom large over discussions.

Japan and the US are keen to corral support for a growing pushback against Beijing’s territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea.

The G7 will also discuss Islamist terrorism, with Hollande keen to address the issue after a brutal year that saw France hit twice by jihadists.