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High school students depart for the U.S. to appeal for nuclear abolition to American youth

by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer

Three high school students of the "No Nuke Network: Students of Hiroshima Against Nuclear Weapons," which seek to realize a nuclear-free world, left for Washington, D.C. on March 21. They will communicate the devastation caused by the atomic bomb and appeal for the elimination of nuclear weapons to Americans of the same generation.

The students are Yuji Kanemori, 17, a second-year student at Hiroshima Gakuin High School, Tomoko Takamoto, 17, a second-year student at Hiroshima Jogakuin High School, and Yuki Okada, 16, a first-year student at Shudo High School. At Hiroshima Station on the morning of their departure, the students expressed their hopes, saying, "We would like to convey the thoughts of those who have lent us their support." Kazuyuki Kawamoto, president of the Chugoku Shimbun, offered words of encouragement and saw them off.

The students will fly from Narita Airport and stay in Washington, D.C. until March 27. They will visit local churches and schools and pass on the horror of the atomic bomb by showing videotapes of the survivors describing their experiences. They will also exchange views on nuclear abolition with American youth and deliver a letter to the White House to invite President Barack Obama to visit Hiroshima.

(Originally published on March 22, 2010)

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