No-nuke messages displayed in front of A-bomb Dome in worldwide antinuclear campaign
May 8, 2015
by Hajime Kikumoto, Staff Writer
On April 27, in conjunction with the opening of the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York, atomic bomb survivors and members of various peace groups displayed messages calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons by the west side of the Motoyasu River in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The event was part of the worldwide “Global Wave” project, designed to promote nuclear abolition.
In Hiroshima, about 40 people responding to the appeal by antinuclear groups took part in the event. They joined together to display boards and posters with the message “Goodbye nukes,” written in English and Japanese, against the backdrop of the A-bomb Dome, a symbol of the A-bomb tragedy which stands on the opposite side of the river. Organizers of the event took photos and videotaped speeches made by A-bomb survivors and high school students.
The Global Wave project was initiated by a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Switzerland. According to Peace Depot, an NGO serving as the project’s representative in Japan, Global Wave events were held in four Japanese cities, including Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Nago, Okinawa. Reports on these events will be posted online at the Global Wave website to help spread the call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
In contrast to these events, however, both the Japanese and U.S. governments state clearly in the Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines that they will maintain the U.S. nuclear umbrella. The path to nuclear abolition, which has long been the desire of A-bomb survivors, is still not clearly seen. One of the participants in Hiroshima, Mieko Okada, 78, an A-bomb survivor and a resident of Higashi Ward, said, “I can never accept the idea of nuclear deterrence. I hope that this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings, will become the starting point for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on April 28, 2015)
On April 27, in conjunction with the opening of the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York, atomic bomb survivors and members of various peace groups displayed messages calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons by the west side of the Motoyasu River in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The event was part of the worldwide “Global Wave” project, designed to promote nuclear abolition.
In Hiroshima, about 40 people responding to the appeal by antinuclear groups took part in the event. They joined together to display boards and posters with the message “Goodbye nukes,” written in English and Japanese, against the backdrop of the A-bomb Dome, a symbol of the A-bomb tragedy which stands on the opposite side of the river. Organizers of the event took photos and videotaped speeches made by A-bomb survivors and high school students.
The Global Wave project was initiated by a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Switzerland. According to Peace Depot, an NGO serving as the project’s representative in Japan, Global Wave events were held in four Japanese cities, including Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Nago, Okinawa. Reports on these events will be posted online at the Global Wave website to help spread the call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
In contrast to these events, however, both the Japanese and U.S. governments state clearly in the Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines that they will maintain the U.S. nuclear umbrella. The path to nuclear abolition, which has long been the desire of A-bomb survivors, is still not clearly seen. One of the participants in Hiroshima, Mieko Okada, 78, an A-bomb survivor and a resident of Higashi Ward, said, “I can never accept the idea of nuclear deterrence. I hope that this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings, will become the starting point for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on April 28, 2015)
