HIROSHIMA — Emiko Okada, an atomic-bomb survivor from Hiroshima, sent letters to the governments of the Group of Eight major economies, inviting their leaders to visit the bomb site when they come to Japan to attend the G8 summit in Hokkaido in July.

To her surprise, three of them — Britain, Germany and the United States — responded to her invitation and expressed appreciation for the invitation, although they are not likely to be able to make the trip.

"I was surprised that they actually read letters sent by an individual and replied," Okada, 71, said. "I want to thank them for taking even just a small amount of time to think about Hiroshima when they wrote back to me."