TOKYO, January 23. /TASS/. Tokyo plans to strengthen interaction with its partners in the Group of Seven (G7) and countries of the Global South as part of a policy of sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday.

"In order to make sure that the international community cooperates in response to various challenges facing the world, the G7 will unite and strengthen its interaction with the so-called Global South. To that end, we will work together to overcome the energy and food crisis in the global economy. In addition, we will actively promote sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine," he pointed out in an address to the lower house of parliament.

When speaking about Japan’s G7 chairmanship, Kishida noted that at the Hiroshima summit, Tokyo intended to show its resolve to lead international efforts to create a world free of nuclear weapons.

Japan, who chairs the G7 this year, will host the group’s summit in the city of Hiroshima in May.

The city came under atomic bombing by the US Air Force on August 6, 1945, with another nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Kishida, whose constituency includes Hiroshima, explained the decision to hold a G7 summit in the city by saying that such a meeting would send a strong signal to the world, emphasizing the need to abandon nuclear weapons.