People in Hiroshima criticize anti-nuclear resolution submitted by Japan at the U.N.
Oct. 29, 2017
by Kohei Okata and Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writers
On October 28, A-bomb survivors and others in Hiroshima voiced harsh criticism of the Japanese government over an anti-nuclear resolution that Japan submitted at the United Nations and was adopted at the First Committee of the U.N. General Assembly. This criticism was leveled over the fact that Japan’s draft resolution, which it spearheaded, makes no direct mention of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In addition, the number of votes in favor of this resolution decreased by 23 nations, compared to the adoption of a similar resolution last year. The survivors lamented this development and urged the government to change directions and move toward signing and promoting the nuclear weapons ban treaty.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, 75, said angrily, “I’m ashamed that nations around the world expressed misgivings about the proposed resolution, which the Japanese government took pains to draft.” Mr. Mimaki is the director of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), as well as the vice chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Prefectural Hidankyo, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi).
The anti-nuclear resolution has been adopted for 24 consecutive years. But this year the resolution did not mention the nuclear weapons ban treaty, recently opened for signatures at the United Nations. The treaty is opposed by countries that include the United States, and the resolution used toned-down language regarding the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons. Mr. Mimaki said, “Is the government just going to go its own way, following the lead of the United States? I wish it would make more serious efforts to show empathy for the A-bomb survivors and work for the goal of abolishing nuclear arms.”
The nuclear weapons ban treaty was adopted this past July. Then, in October, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), an international non-governmental organization (NGO), was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. “These favorable winds shouldn’t be negatively impacting Japan at all,” said Toshiko Tanaka, 79, an A-bomb survivor living in Higashi Ward, Hiroshima, who has been sharing her A-bomb account in activities with an ICAN partner organization. “The time is now. I wish the Japanese government would make stronger efforts to advance nuclear abolition.”
To call for the government to sign the treaty, Ms. Tanaka and her colleagues made six or seven large paper cranes, adorned them with messages and illustrations, and sent them to the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. She said, “We would like to continue our grassroots activities and move the government.”
Akira Kawasaki, 48, a member of ICAN’s steering committee, stressed the fact that non-nuclear nations like Austria, which took the lead in establishing the treaty, all abstained from voting on Japan’s resolution. He criticized Japan’s attitude, saying, “It’s now clear that Japan has lost the trust of the pro-treaty nations. The Japanese government has placed more importance on the will of the nuclear powers, and has not been acting as a bridge between the nuclear armed nations and the non-nuclear weapon states.”
(Originally published on October 29, 2017)
On October 28, A-bomb survivors and others in Hiroshima voiced harsh criticism of the Japanese government over an anti-nuclear resolution that Japan submitted at the United Nations and was adopted at the First Committee of the U.N. General Assembly. This criticism was leveled over the fact that Japan’s draft resolution, which it spearheaded, makes no direct mention of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In addition, the number of votes in favor of this resolution decreased by 23 nations, compared to the adoption of a similar resolution last year. The survivors lamented this development and urged the government to change directions and move toward signing and promoting the nuclear weapons ban treaty.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, 75, said angrily, “I’m ashamed that nations around the world expressed misgivings about the proposed resolution, which the Japanese government took pains to draft.” Mr. Mimaki is the director of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), as well as the vice chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Prefectural Hidankyo, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi).
The anti-nuclear resolution has been adopted for 24 consecutive years. But this year the resolution did not mention the nuclear weapons ban treaty, recently opened for signatures at the United Nations. The treaty is opposed by countries that include the United States, and the resolution used toned-down language regarding the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons. Mr. Mimaki said, “Is the government just going to go its own way, following the lead of the United States? I wish it would make more serious efforts to show empathy for the A-bomb survivors and work for the goal of abolishing nuclear arms.”
The nuclear weapons ban treaty was adopted this past July. Then, in October, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), an international non-governmental organization (NGO), was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. “These favorable winds shouldn’t be negatively impacting Japan at all,” said Toshiko Tanaka, 79, an A-bomb survivor living in Higashi Ward, Hiroshima, who has been sharing her A-bomb account in activities with an ICAN partner organization. “The time is now. I wish the Japanese government would make stronger efforts to advance nuclear abolition.”
To call for the government to sign the treaty, Ms. Tanaka and her colleagues made six or seven large paper cranes, adorned them with messages and illustrations, and sent them to the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. She said, “We would like to continue our grassroots activities and move the government.”
Akira Kawasaki, 48, a member of ICAN’s steering committee, stressed the fact that non-nuclear nations like Austria, which took the lead in establishing the treaty, all abstained from voting on Japan’s resolution. He criticized Japan’s attitude, saying, “It’s now clear that Japan has lost the trust of the pro-treaty nations. The Japanese government has placed more importance on the will of the nuclear powers, and has not been acting as a bridge between the nuclear armed nations and the non-nuclear weapon states.”
(Originally published on October 29, 2017)
