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Francis and Fumio Kishida met for about half an hour in a
receiving room of the Vatican's audience hall just before
Francis held his general audience for thousands of people in St.
Peter's Square.
"They talked of nuclear weapons and how their use and possession
is inconceivable," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
A separate Vatican statement said that in discussions afterwards
with top Vatican diplomats, particular attention was given to
the war in Ukraine, "stressing the urgency of dialogue and peace
and expressing the hope, to this end, for a world free of
nuclear weapons".
Since Russia invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24, Francis has
several times spoken of a possible nuclear conflict resulting
from the war.
The two met on the same day that Russia's foreign ministry
announced sanctions against 63 Japanese officials, including
Kishida, for engaging in what it called "unacceptable rhetoric"
against Moscow.
During his visit to Japan in 2019, Francis visited Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, which in 1945 became the only cities ever to be hit by
atomic bombs, and appealed to world leaders to ensure that
nuclear weapons are never used again.
Francis backs a U.N. treaty aiming to ban nuclear weapons and
has said that even their possession for the purpose of
deterrence is immoral.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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