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Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association sends Obama invitation to IPPNW World Congress

by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer

The Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association revealed that it has sent U.S. President Barack Obama an invitation to the World Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), to be held in Hiroshima in August of next year. On March 6, Shizuteru Usui, president of the association, talked about the invitation at an IPPNW gathering in Katmandu, Nepal.

The Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association is seeking to build momentum for the elimination of nuclear weapons by inviting figures influential on the world stage and leaders of nuclear weapon states to the congress. The association is also considering sending invitations to the 14th Dalai Lama, the supreme leader of Tibetan Buddhism, Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, and Kim Jong-un, successor of Kim Jong-il in North Korea and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Korean Worker’s Party.

In Nepal, the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association also came into contact with the president of IPPNW’s North Korean branch. They conferred on health checkups for A-bomb survivors in North Korea that the association hopes to conduct in May. Dr. Usui said, “They understood that the health checkups would be conducted for humanitarian purposes. We were asked to submit the itinerary for the trip and a list of names for the delegation. This is a significant step forward in realizing the health checkups.”

(Originally published on March 8, 2011)

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