Thanks to my colleague, I had a great opportunity to work with a broadcast station for the G7 Hiroshima summit, which was held for 3 days between 19.05 – 21.05. It was not a full-time translation/interpreting but an interesting job yet: logging real-time feeds; translating an open welcome address by PM Kishida; transcribing an interview.
Whereas only a part of recordings would be broadcast to the public after edited, I had a chance to observe the entire proceedings where media agencies were allowed despite only my shifts, and watched from the Media Center this meaningful event held in Hiroshima where I grew up. PM Kishida has his roots in Hiroshima (while he grew up in Tokyo), and his wife, the First Lady Ms Kishida, grew up in Hiroshima, so both of them are attached to the prefecture. I could see how proud they were of the opportunity to hold the summit in Hiroshima, City of Peace, and to welcome the leaders 💐
In Hiroshima city and its vicinity, however, there were largely and flexibly changed traffic controls for the leaders’ schedules and programs (ca. 30,000 police officers assembled from all over Japan👮♂️🚘), which received harsh protests and complaints from understandable anxieties (e.g. if those traffic controls would become obstacles for emergent ambulance transport). That we did not hear nor see actual incidents through news programs after all doesn’t mean we didn’t have inconveniences. On the other hand, that many media crews visited Hiroshima from relevant countries and helped air our beautiful Hiroshima city, which was reconstructed after the atomic bombing, should be beneficial.
I love Hiroshima, as a resident who grew up in Hiroshima (while I was born in Yamaguchi pref.). I was honored therefore that I was able to join and help a part of the event. I was glad to hear that media crews, whom I worked with, enjoyed their stays in Hiroshima. Their broadcasts would be a great help to get more people interested in and visit Hiroshima from all over the world (๑>᎑<๑)و ﾖｼｯ!
Photo: a variety of souvenir I received at the Media Center 👜✒️🗒
