×

News

Sit-in marks anniversary of first nuclear test in Nevada

Participants call for abolition of nuclear weapons

by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer

A sit-in calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons was held in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on January 27 to mark the anniversary of the first nuclear test conducted in the U.S. state of Nevada.

Organized by the Hiroshima Congress Against A- and H-Bombs (Gensuikin) and the Hiroshima Peace Action Center, the sit-in began at 5:30 p.m. and lasted for 30 minutes. It attracted 66 participants, including atomic bomb survivors, who sat in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in a cold wind while holding a banner calling for a total ban on nuclear testing.

In his remarks, Masaaki Sako, a representative of Gensuikin member, expressed a sense of alarm over the lack of progress toward nuclear disarmament. “Can we say that the lessons of the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been learned? We must find more ways to get our message out,” he said.

The participants adopted a petition calling for closure of the test site in Nevada, a nuclear weapons convention and an end to the use of nuclear power. The petition will be sent to the office of the prime minister and the U.S. ambassador to Japan in Tokyo by fax today.

(Originally published on January 28, 2015)

Archives