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A-bomb survivors to join Peace Boat voyage and call for treaty to outlaw nuclear weapons

by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer

On April 11, Hiroshima A-bomb survivors who will take part in a voyage organized by Peace Boat, a non-governmental organization (NGO), and other participants held a press conference in Tokyo. During the worldwide voyage, the survivors will share their A-bomb accounts and appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons from the earth. At the press conference, they spoke about being motivated by U.N. talks to establish a treaty that would outlaw nuclear arms. The next round of negotiations to advance this treaty will open in June at U.N. headquarters in New York.

The group consists of seven participants, including A-bomb survivors and second-generation A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and young people involved in peace activities. They will leave Yokohama port on April 12 and travel around the world for 105 days, visiting 22 countries. Among these countries are the United States, Russia, and France, three nuclear weapon states.

Toshiko Tanaka, 78, an A-bomb survivor and resident of Higashi Ward, Hiroshima, mentioned comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump which indicate his desire to strengthen the U.S. nuclear arsenal and said, as an A-bomb survivor, that such comments make her uneasy. She added, “I would like to convey the real consequences of the damage wrought by the atomic bombing to as many people as I can and appeal for a treaty to ban nuclear weapons, which is the only solution to this problem.”

Ms. Tanaka will be among some members of the group who will observe the talks at U.N. headquarters and call on the conference participants to establish the nuclear ban treaty. At other locations where the ship will stop, the survivors will share their A-bomb experiences with the local people and gather signatures for a petition called the “Hibakusha Appeal for a Nuclear Ban Treaty.”

The participants of the voyage have also been designated Communicators/Youth Communicators for a World without Nuclear Weapons by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

(Originally published on April 12, 2017)

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