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Hiroshima Prefecture seeks Chinese cooperation to restore wording on “visit to A-bomb cities” in NPT final document

by Kyoji Matsumoto, Staff Writer

On May 18, in an effort to address the removal of wording from the draft of the final document at the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), text which appeals for world leaders to visit the A-bombed cities, the Hiroshima Prefectural Office submitted a written request to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. The request, addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping, called for China’s cooperation to restore this wording. The idea of visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki was removed from the draft document as a result of Chinese opposition.

Masahiro Takenaka, the head of the Regional Policy Bureau at Hiroshima Prefectural Office, visited the Chinese Embassy and handed the letter of request, which was signed by Hidehiko Yuzaki, the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, to the Chinese Minister-Counselor. Regarding the fact that China sought to delete the wording which involves world leaders visiting the A-bombed cities, arguing that “Japan is trying to distort history,” the letter from Mr. Yuzaki said that the proposed call was meant to let the world know about the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons, and it had nothing to do with the distortion of history as China contended.

The letter also referred to comments made by former presidents of the United States and the former Soviet Union after they paid visits to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and stressed the importance of seeing Hiroshima and Nagasaki first-hand. Mr. Yuzaki made a strong request for China’s cooperation in including a reference which calls on the world’s political leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final NPT document and urged Mr. Xi to visit the A-bombed cities, too.

According to the Hiroshima Prefectural Office, the Chinese Minister-Counselor responded, “You have come all the way from Hiroshima and I view this visit seriously. I will deliver the governor’s message to the leadership in China.”

(Originally published on May 19, 2015)

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