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Hiroshima welcomes Japan’s support of anti-nuclear weapons statement

by Kohei Okata and Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writers

On October 22, atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima welcomed the Japanese government’s approval of a joint statement against the use of nuclear weapons, which was announced at the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, the body that deals with disarmament issues. This is the first time that the Japanese government has lent its support to a statement which condemns the inhumanity and use of nuclear weapons. While some survivors said that their voices were heard and that this marks a first step toward the elimination of nuclear weapons, others criticized the government for continuing to rely on the U.S. nuclear umbrella and called for resolving this contradiction.

Sunao Tsuboi, 88, chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, welcomed the government’s decision with the words, “The voices of the people who are calling for peace were heard.” In all, 125 nations endorsed the statement, the largest number of any such statement to date. Mr. Tsuboi believes that this statement will put pressure on the nuclear weapon states and hopes that it will help fuel the momentum of the nuclear abolition movement.

Mitsue Furuta, 66, vice chair of the other faction of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Kazushi Kaneko, visited New York between October 6 and 14 as a member of the delegation of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. She observed the First Committee of the U.N. General Assembly and requested that representatives of national governments give their support to the cause of nuclear abolition.

Ms. Furuta said that representatives from Malaysia and other governments had asked her to urge the Japanese government to sign the statement. “Now that our government has endorsed the statement, it must be determined to work toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. It should leave the nuclear umbrella,” added Ms. Furuta.

Kazumi Mizumoto, vice president of the Hiroshima Peace Institute at Hiroshima City University and an expert on nuclear disarmament, said, “The Japanese government should not use this statement as a political tool. The aim of the statement is to outlaw nuclear arms. The government should face this fact squarely.”

Kazumi Matsui, the mayor of Hiroshima, said at a press conference that he welcomes the government’s decision as a manifestation of its resolve. “I hope that Japan will serve as a leader of these 125 nations in our effort to realize the total abolition of nuclear weapons,” Mr. Matsui said. Hidehiko Yuzaki, the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, commented, “It is significant that Japan, as the nation which suffered the atomic bombings, is giving its support to the global movement for nuclear abolition.”

(Originally published on October 23, 2013)

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