Hidankyo adopts resolution urging U.S. to eliminate nuclear weapons
Jun. 17, 2016
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
On May 16, at its annual general meeting held in Tokyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) criticized the speech made by U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to Hiroshima on May 27. The participants noted that the speech did not mention U.S. responsibility for the atomic bombings, and they adopted a resolution calling strongly for the U.S. government to act to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons. Before closing the meeting, the participants confirmed the organization’s action plan for the 2016 fiscal year, including a global campaign to collect signatures in support of concluding a treaty to ban nuclear arms.
The resolution pointed out that President Obama avoided U.S. responsibility for the horrifying catastrophe by referring to the dropping of the atomic bomb as “death fell from the sky.” The resolution also mentioned that Obama’s speech lacked concrete steps for reducing the world’s nuclear weapons. Although some at the general meeting regarded Mr. Obama’s visit to Hiroshima favorably, there were no objections to the content of the adopted resolution.
At a press conference after the meeting, Terumi Tanaka, the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, said that the organization is planning to ask Mr. Obama to visit Hiroshima again because the president spent only a short time talking to survivors and looking at the exhibits in the Peace Memorial Museum.
The general meeting also found agreement on projects that will be pursued to mark August’s 60th anniversary of the founding of Nihon Hidankyo. The organization will announce a petition drive for the elimination of nuclear arms at an anniversary event to be held in Tokyo in October and carry out a large-scale investigation of the health of second-generation survivors and their activities to convey the survivors’ experiences of the atomic bombings. The results of this investigation will be summarized by June 2017.
The membership of Hidankyo is declining due to the advancing age of the survivors, and the organization is facing financial difficulties. Toward this end, it also confirmed a five-year fundraising plan to enable its current level of activities to continue.
(Originally published on June 17, 2016)
On May 16, at its annual general meeting held in Tokyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) criticized the speech made by U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to Hiroshima on May 27. The participants noted that the speech did not mention U.S. responsibility for the atomic bombings, and they adopted a resolution calling strongly for the U.S. government to act to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons. Before closing the meeting, the participants confirmed the organization’s action plan for the 2016 fiscal year, including a global campaign to collect signatures in support of concluding a treaty to ban nuclear arms.
The resolution pointed out that President Obama avoided U.S. responsibility for the horrifying catastrophe by referring to the dropping of the atomic bomb as “death fell from the sky.” The resolution also mentioned that Obama’s speech lacked concrete steps for reducing the world’s nuclear weapons. Although some at the general meeting regarded Mr. Obama’s visit to Hiroshima favorably, there were no objections to the content of the adopted resolution.
At a press conference after the meeting, Terumi Tanaka, the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, said that the organization is planning to ask Mr. Obama to visit Hiroshima again because the president spent only a short time talking to survivors and looking at the exhibits in the Peace Memorial Museum.
The general meeting also found agreement on projects that will be pursued to mark August’s 60th anniversary of the founding of Nihon Hidankyo. The organization will announce a petition drive for the elimination of nuclear arms at an anniversary event to be held in Tokyo in October and carry out a large-scale investigation of the health of second-generation survivors and their activities to convey the survivors’ experiences of the atomic bombings. The results of this investigation will be summarized by June 2017.
The membership of Hidankyo is declining due to the advancing age of the survivors, and the organization is facing financial difficulties. Toward this end, it also confirmed a five-year fundraising plan to enable its current level of activities to continue.
(Originally published on June 17, 2016)
