Peace Declaration draft includes negotiations for nuclear weapons convention but makes no reference to security bills
Jul. 27, 2015
by Masanori Wada, Staff Writer
On July 21, a draft of the Peace Declaration to be read out by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui at the August 6 Peace Memorial Ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing was presented at the final meeting of a consulting panel consisting of atomic bomb survivors and experts. Seeking to see nuclear weapons, referred to as the “absolute evil,” abolished by the year 2020, Mr. Matsui will express his determination to encourage world leaders to begin negotiating a ban on nuclear arms by creating a nuclear weapons convention while calling on the citizens of the world to take action toward that goal. The final draft of the Peace Declaration will be completed by the mayor by the end of this month.
According to the current draft, with next year’s Group of Seven summit (Ise Shima summit) in mind, Mr. Matsui will call on world leaders, especially U.S. President Barack Obama to whom he will mention by name, to visit the A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mr. Matsui hopes that their visit to these cities will lead to the start of discussions on creating a nuclear weapons convention.
Reflecting the views presented at previous meetings of the consulting panel, the first half of this year’s Peace Declaration, which relates to the effects of the atomic bombing, will include more detailed description than usual. The thoughts and feelings of A-bomb survivors have been incorporated at length, and the appeals for peace made by two male and female survivors are also included. These appeals were selected from the testimonies of A-bomb survivors sent to the city up until last year.
Meanwhile, as Mr. Matsui mentioned after the previous meeting with the consulting panel on July 1, the issue of the security bills which will enable Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense is not included in the Peace Declaration. Mr. Matsui believes that the building of trust among global leaders through dialogue and mentioning the pacifism stipulated in the Japanese Constitution will lead to the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of peace in the world.
After the last meeting, the city distributed two drafts to panel members: one draft which mentions seven items, including “global conditions involving nuclear weapons,” in which each item is described in terms similar to Peace Declarations in the past; and a new type of draft which includes more detailed descriptions of the effects of the atomic bomb. This draft was created in advance based on the views of panel members and then presented at the meeting on July 21. The new draft was discussed behind closed doors by all 10 members, including the mayor, who also serves as the chair of the panel, and was mostly approved.
After the meeting, Mr. Matsui mentioned the reason for not including the security bills in the text, saying, “I think the Peace Declaration should include Hiroshima’s appeal to the Japanese government and world leaders. Without direct reference to this domestic issue, Hiroshima’s essential message can be fully conveyed.”
(Originally published on July 22, 2015)
On July 21, a draft of the Peace Declaration to be read out by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui at the August 6 Peace Memorial Ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing was presented at the final meeting of a consulting panel consisting of atomic bomb survivors and experts. Seeking to see nuclear weapons, referred to as the “absolute evil,” abolished by the year 2020, Mr. Matsui will express his determination to encourage world leaders to begin negotiating a ban on nuclear arms by creating a nuclear weapons convention while calling on the citizens of the world to take action toward that goal. The final draft of the Peace Declaration will be completed by the mayor by the end of this month.
According to the current draft, with next year’s Group of Seven summit (Ise Shima summit) in mind, Mr. Matsui will call on world leaders, especially U.S. President Barack Obama to whom he will mention by name, to visit the A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mr. Matsui hopes that their visit to these cities will lead to the start of discussions on creating a nuclear weapons convention.
Reflecting the views presented at previous meetings of the consulting panel, the first half of this year’s Peace Declaration, which relates to the effects of the atomic bombing, will include more detailed description than usual. The thoughts and feelings of A-bomb survivors have been incorporated at length, and the appeals for peace made by two male and female survivors are also included. These appeals were selected from the testimonies of A-bomb survivors sent to the city up until last year.
Meanwhile, as Mr. Matsui mentioned after the previous meeting with the consulting panel on July 1, the issue of the security bills which will enable Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense is not included in the Peace Declaration. Mr. Matsui believes that the building of trust among global leaders through dialogue and mentioning the pacifism stipulated in the Japanese Constitution will lead to the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of peace in the world.
After the last meeting, the city distributed two drafts to panel members: one draft which mentions seven items, including “global conditions involving nuclear weapons,” in which each item is described in terms similar to Peace Declarations in the past; and a new type of draft which includes more detailed descriptions of the effects of the atomic bomb. This draft was created in advance based on the views of panel members and then presented at the meeting on July 21. The new draft was discussed behind closed doors by all 10 members, including the mayor, who also serves as the chair of the panel, and was mostly approved.
After the meeting, Mr. Matsui mentioned the reason for not including the security bills in the text, saying, “I think the Peace Declaration should include Hiroshima’s appeal to the Japanese government and world leaders. Without direct reference to this domestic issue, Hiroshima’s essential message can be fully conveyed.”
(Originally published on July 22, 2015)
