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Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs holds Bikini Day gathering, promotes petition drive to start negotiations for nuclear weapons convention

by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer

On February 28, the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs held a conference in the city of Shizuoka prior to the 57th anniversary of Bikini Day on March 1. Bikini Day is observed in memory of an incident that took place on the Bikini Atoll, located in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. On March 1, 1954, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (The Lucky Dragon No. 5), a Japanese tuna fishing boat, was exposed to the nuclear fallout from a U.S. hydrogen bomb test.

Roughly 1,000 people attended the gathering from around the nation. Shoji Sawada, director of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, said at the general meeting that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and others have voiced support for their organization's effort to pursue a petition drive which seeks the start of negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention. He appealed to those in attendance to promote the effort, saying, “This is a golden opportunity to press for the start of the negotiations.”

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations and a representative of an Australian nongovernmental organization (NGO), among others, expressed their support for the petition drive. Each branch of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, including those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also reported on the reactions to the campaign. Meanwhile, Joseph Gerson, a member of the American Friends Service Committee, revealed that the committee appreciated the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations’ appeal for the elimination of nuclear weapons and has recommended the organization as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

On March 1, the Japan Congress Against A- and H-bombs will also hold a gathering in Shizuoka.

(Originally published on March 1, 2011)

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