Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left for Italy on Thursday to participate in the summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders before heading to Malta.

Abe has said he wants to make North Korea's nuclear and missile programs a key talking point at the two-day G-7 gathering starting Friday, aiming for the leaders to send out a strong message on the issue.

"We want to share the view that it is a serious threat to the world and we will be united to address the issue," Abe told reporters at Tokyo's Haneda airport.