Hiroshima mayor urges action for nuclear abolition in Peace Declaration to mark 70th anniversary of atomic bombing
Aug. 11, 2015
by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer
On August 6, 70 years after the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the City of Hiroshima held the annual Peace Memorial Ceremony in the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. In his Peace Declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui called nuclear arms the “ultimate inhumanity” and stressed that “now is the time to start taking action” to abolish these weapons. The ceremony was attended by about 55,000 people including A-bomb survivors and family members of the victims, from Japan and overseas, and Hiroshima citizens. The average age of the survivors, or hibakusha, is now over 80. In the city which managed a remarkable recovery, despite rumors that “nothing would grow here for 70 years,” a wave of prayers from those wishing for peace on this planet rippled out into the world.
Representatives from a record 100 nations and the Europe Union attended the ceremony as distinguished guests. The United States was represented by Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, and Rose Gottemoeller, the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security for the U.S. State Department. Ms. Gottemoeller is the first high government official to ever attend the ceremony.
Under a clear sky, the ceremony site was almost entirely shaded for the first time by large tents. The ceremony began at exactly 8 a.m. Mr. Matsui and two representatives from the bereaved families placed three volumes of the register of names of the dead in the stone chest under the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. The new volumes include the names of 5,359 people who died or were confirmed dead over the past year. The register, which contains the names of 293,684 A-bomb victims, has now grown to 109 volumes.
Following the dedication of flowers, all in attendance offered a minute of silent prayer at 8:15 a.m, the time when the atomic bomb exploded above Hiroshima, as the Peace Bell tolled. The bell was sounded by Hiromi Nakagawa, 38, the representative of the bereaved families and a resident of Naka Ward, and Yuki Higashikawa, 12, the children’s representative and a sixth-grader at Danbara Elementary School in Minami Ward.
In the Peace Declaration, Mr. Matsui spoke for the A-bomb victims with the words, “Put back Hiroshima—their hometown, families, and their own minds and bodies—the way it was.” He stressed that new victims and survivors could be produced as long as nuclear weapons exist. The mayor also called on U.S. President Barack Obama and other policymakers to come to the A-bombed cities and begin negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention. He proposed, as well, that the Japanese government take the lead in these discussions.
Mr. Matsui did not directly mention the issue of the new security bills that would enable Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense. At the same time, he urged world leaders to create broadly versatile security systems that do not depend on military might and promote “the path to true peace” as reflected in the pacifism of the Japanese Constitution.
The Commitment to Peace was read out by Yuro Kuwahara, 12, a sixth-grader at Hakushima Elementary School, and Yuka Hosokawa, 12, a sixth-grader at Yanominami Elementary School. Their words touched on Haruto Hirano, 11, who was a fifth-grader at Yamamoto Elementary School in Asaminami Ward and lost his life in disastrous landslides that struck Hiroshima last year on August 20. The children’s representatives emphasized that “they came to know the grief that comes from losing a loved one” and said with one voice that they would connect the wish of the hibakusha and the desire for peace felt by children to impact the future.
In his address, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make efforts to create “a world free of nuclear weapons.” However, he made no mention of Japan’s three non-nuclear principles.
The number of A-bomb survivors who hold the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate has declined to 183,519, as of the end of March 2015, and their average age has reached 80.13.
Summary of the Peace Declaration
* Hiroshima was destroyed by a single atomic bomb and, by the end of 1945, the lives of 140,000 people including foreign nationals were taken. “Put Hiroshima back the way it was” is the cry of the hibakusha.
* Policymakers repeat by word and deed their nuclear intimidation and we worry about nuclear terrorism. Anyone could become a hibakusha at any time. Now is the time to start taking action to abolish all nuclear weapons.
* Based on “generosity” and “love for humanity,” Hiroshima calls on policymakers to create broadly versatile security systems that do not depend on military might and promote the path to true peace revealed by the pacifism of the Japanese Constitution.
* The City of Hiroshima will work even harder to convey the facts of the atomic bombing to coming generations, and do everything in its power to accelerate negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention and the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.
* Next year’s summit meeting and the foreign ministers’ meeting in Hiroshima prior to the summit are perfect opportunities to deliver a message about the abolition of nuclear weapons. The city calls on U.S. President Barack Obama and other policymakers to visit the A-bombed cities and recognize the need for discussing a legal framework that includes a nuclear weapons convention. The city also urges the Japanese government to take the lead in these discussions.
(Originally published on August 7, 2015)
On August 6, 70 years after the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the City of Hiroshima held the annual Peace Memorial Ceremony in the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. In his Peace Declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui called nuclear arms the “ultimate inhumanity” and stressed that “now is the time to start taking action” to abolish these weapons. The ceremony was attended by about 55,000 people including A-bomb survivors and family members of the victims, from Japan and overseas, and Hiroshima citizens. The average age of the survivors, or hibakusha, is now over 80. In the city which managed a remarkable recovery, despite rumors that “nothing would grow here for 70 years,” a wave of prayers from those wishing for peace on this planet rippled out into the world.
Representatives from a record 100 nations and the Europe Union attended the ceremony as distinguished guests. The United States was represented by Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, and Rose Gottemoeller, the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security for the U.S. State Department. Ms. Gottemoeller is the first high government official to ever attend the ceremony.
Under a clear sky, the ceremony site was almost entirely shaded for the first time by large tents. The ceremony began at exactly 8 a.m. Mr. Matsui and two representatives from the bereaved families placed three volumes of the register of names of the dead in the stone chest under the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. The new volumes include the names of 5,359 people who died or were confirmed dead over the past year. The register, which contains the names of 293,684 A-bomb victims, has now grown to 109 volumes.
Following the dedication of flowers, all in attendance offered a minute of silent prayer at 8:15 a.m, the time when the atomic bomb exploded above Hiroshima, as the Peace Bell tolled. The bell was sounded by Hiromi Nakagawa, 38, the representative of the bereaved families and a resident of Naka Ward, and Yuki Higashikawa, 12, the children’s representative and a sixth-grader at Danbara Elementary School in Minami Ward.
In the Peace Declaration, Mr. Matsui spoke for the A-bomb victims with the words, “Put back Hiroshima—their hometown, families, and their own minds and bodies—the way it was.” He stressed that new victims and survivors could be produced as long as nuclear weapons exist. The mayor also called on U.S. President Barack Obama and other policymakers to come to the A-bombed cities and begin negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention. He proposed, as well, that the Japanese government take the lead in these discussions.
Mr. Matsui did not directly mention the issue of the new security bills that would enable Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense. At the same time, he urged world leaders to create broadly versatile security systems that do not depend on military might and promote “the path to true peace” as reflected in the pacifism of the Japanese Constitution.
The Commitment to Peace was read out by Yuro Kuwahara, 12, a sixth-grader at Hakushima Elementary School, and Yuka Hosokawa, 12, a sixth-grader at Yanominami Elementary School. Their words touched on Haruto Hirano, 11, who was a fifth-grader at Yamamoto Elementary School in Asaminami Ward and lost his life in disastrous landslides that struck Hiroshima last year on August 20. The children’s representatives emphasized that “they came to know the grief that comes from losing a loved one” and said with one voice that they would connect the wish of the hibakusha and the desire for peace felt by children to impact the future.
In his address, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make efforts to create “a world free of nuclear weapons.” However, he made no mention of Japan’s three non-nuclear principles.
The number of A-bomb survivors who hold the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate has declined to 183,519, as of the end of March 2015, and their average age has reached 80.13.
Summary of the Peace Declaration
* Hiroshima was destroyed by a single atomic bomb and, by the end of 1945, the lives of 140,000 people including foreign nationals were taken. “Put Hiroshima back the way it was” is the cry of the hibakusha.
* Policymakers repeat by word and deed their nuclear intimidation and we worry about nuclear terrorism. Anyone could become a hibakusha at any time. Now is the time to start taking action to abolish all nuclear weapons.
* Based on “generosity” and “love for humanity,” Hiroshima calls on policymakers to create broadly versatile security systems that do not depend on military might and promote the path to true peace revealed by the pacifism of the Japanese Constitution.
* The City of Hiroshima will work even harder to convey the facts of the atomic bombing to coming generations, and do everything in its power to accelerate negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention and the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.
* Next year’s summit meeting and the foreign ministers’ meeting in Hiroshima prior to the summit are perfect opportunities to deliver a message about the abolition of nuclear weapons. The city calls on U.S. President Barack Obama and other policymakers to visit the A-bombed cities and recognize the need for discussing a legal framework that includes a nuclear weapons convention. The city also urges the Japanese government to take the lead in these discussions.
(Originally published on August 7, 2015)
