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Bikini Day gathering closes with resolve to share A-bomb experiences in U.S.

On February 28, one day before the 61st anniversary of Bikini Day, a national gathering of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo) closed in Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture. On March 1, 61 years ago, a tuna fishing boat from the city, called the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (The Lucky Dragon No. 5), was exposed to radioactive fallout from a hydrogen bomb test performed by the United States. The two-day meeting closed after workshops and a plenary session.

At the plenary session, Masakazu Yasui, the secretary general of Gensuikyo, delivered a baseline report. He said that, by rallying public calls for the start of negotiations to create a nuclear weapons convention, they can overcome resistance from the nuclear weapon states, which cling to their nuclear arsenals. The organization will send a delegation to the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is scheduled to open in New York in late April. Delegates made speeches and expressed their determination to convey the A-bomb experiences they have heard and appeal for the preciousness of peace.

Terumi Tanaka, the secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), was invited to attend the gathering as a guest. Mr. Tanaka said, “Building the ban-the-bomb movement into a national people’s movement has helped unite the A-bomb survivors.” He called for support to help realize the long-cherished wish of nuclear abolition and state compensation in this milestone year, marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings.

Topics of the workshops included details of the activities to be pursued in New York, and the support they have been providing in areas affected by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear power plant, which took place four years ago.

On March 1, Bikini Day rallies will be held by the executive committee of the World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, in which Gensuikyo is involved, and by the Japan Congress against A- and H- Bombs in the cities of Yaizu and Shizuoka, respectively.

(Originally published on March 1, 2015)

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