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Anger expressed at confirmation of secret nuclear pacts

by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer

On March 9, when the content of the report by an expert panel investigating secret Japan-U.S. pacts was released, A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) were indignant, saying, "We have been betrayed by the government." Meanwhile, in the city of Iwakuni, where the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station is located and suspected entries of nuclear weapons successively surfaced during the 1970s and 1980s, those concerned called anew for clarification of the historical facts.

Hiroshima

Sunao Tsuboi, 84, chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, stressed, "I feel outrage at the Japanese government, which has deceived its people. I hope that Japanese people will come together and step up the call for making the three non-nuclear principles into law." Kazushi Kaneko, 84, chair of the other Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, said, "The A-bombed nation of Japan should seek to scrap the secret pacts and lead the movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons." Emiko Okada, 73, a peace volunteer at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, expressed disgust, saying, "It has turned out that the Japanese government isn't considering nuclear abolition seriously. I feel betrayed."

Meanwhile, Yoichi Miyazawa, 59, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and former Lower House member, who is a nephew and was a secretary of the late Kiichi Miyazawa, the former Japanese Prime Minister, spoke on the disclosure. Referring to the fact that the former prime minister had permitted the secret pact on bringing nuclear weapons into Japan, he said, "I think he was torn between his ideals and the reality of the time, and reached the conclusion after serious consideration. If he was alive today, I believe he would hope to talk over many things."

Iwakuni

Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda, 39, spoke on suspected entries of nuclear weapons into the Iwakuni Air Station: "Though we are trying to verify the fact with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have not yet received a reply. We are seeking a precise explanation, including the information from the United States."

There have long been nuclear suspicions in Iwakuni, including the testimony by a former U.S. senior official and others that landing ship tanks (LST) carrying nuclear weapons anchored in Iwakuni around the 1960s. Jungen Tamura, 64, an Iwakuni city assembly member and executive of Rimpeace, an organization that monitors the activities of U.S. military bases in Japan, calls for "candid disclosure of the facts." Keisuke Kume, 54, representative director of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Peace Committee, stressed, "It is vital to make efforts to boost public opinion so that nuclear weapons will never be brought into Japan again."

(Originally published on March 10, 2010)


Hiroshima officials comment on presence of secret nuclear pacts

by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer

On March 9, Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki and Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba commented after an expert panel investigating secret Japan-U.S. pacts released its report.

Governor Yuzaki appealed to the Japanese government: "It is extremely regrettable if there were deeds which violated the three non-nuclear principles. The abolition of nuclear weapons is an earnest wish of Hiroshima citizens, who experienced the devastation wrought by the first atomic bombing in human history. I hope that the Japanese government will abide by the three non-nuclear principles and work actively in pursuit of nuclear abolition."

Mayor Akiba commented on the entries of nuclear weapons into Japan: "It is highly regrettable that secret pacts, in a broad sense of the term, existed." He then called on the government to enshrine the three non-nuclear principles into law and stated, "I call on the government to promote active diplomacy in order to build trust among nations, so that a security framework without dependence on the nuclear umbrella can be created."

(Originally published on March 10, 2010)

Related articles
Panel confirms existence of 3 of 4 secret Japan-U.S. pacts (Jan. 4, 2010)

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