Hibakusha Appeal, to promote nuclear weapons ban treaty, is backed by more than 50% of Japanese municipalities
Jan. 25, 2018
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
The “Hibakusha Appeal,” an international signature campaign that urges all countries to conclude the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, is now backed by the leaders of 976 local governments in Japan, or 54.6% of the total number of local governments. The association of A-bomb survivors promoting this global effort, which is comprised of 44 anti-nuclear peace groups, held a meeting in Tokyo to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening the signature campaign.
Originally proposed by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), the signature campaign was launched in April 2016, and since then the groups of supporters have urged citizens in Japan and abroad to put their signatures on the petition form. The data compiled by the association on January 8 shows that the leaders of 976 local governments, out of the nation’s 1,788 local governments (prefectures, cities, towns, villages and Tokyo’s 23 wards), have signed their names. The data also includes the names of the leaders who left office since signing the petition.
The prefectural governors and mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have all added their signatures and provided the campaign with personal messages. Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui wrote: “I hope the signature campaign will be supported by as many people in the world as possible, and will fuel substantial movement toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.”
Signatures have been gathered both on the streets and via the campaign’s website. The goal, by the year 2020, is to have collected hundreds of millions of signatures of support from all over the world. As of September 2017, about 5,155,000 signatures were in hand. Terumi Tanaka, the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo and a promoter of the Hibakusha Appeal, said, “The signatures of local government leaders help raise the public’s awareness and understanding of the signature campaign.” Boosted by the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which played an important role in the establishment of the nuclear weapons ban treaty, Mr. Tanaka intends to make efforts to strengthen the signature campaign.
(Originally published on January 25, 2018)
The “Hibakusha Appeal,” an international signature campaign that urges all countries to conclude the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, is now backed by the leaders of 976 local governments in Japan, or 54.6% of the total number of local governments. The association of A-bomb survivors promoting this global effort, which is comprised of 44 anti-nuclear peace groups, held a meeting in Tokyo to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening the signature campaign.
Originally proposed by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), the signature campaign was launched in April 2016, and since then the groups of supporters have urged citizens in Japan and abroad to put their signatures on the petition form. The data compiled by the association on January 8 shows that the leaders of 976 local governments, out of the nation’s 1,788 local governments (prefectures, cities, towns, villages and Tokyo’s 23 wards), have signed their names. The data also includes the names of the leaders who left office since signing the petition.
The prefectural governors and mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have all added their signatures and provided the campaign with personal messages. Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui wrote: “I hope the signature campaign will be supported by as many people in the world as possible, and will fuel substantial movement toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.”
Signatures have been gathered both on the streets and via the campaign’s website. The goal, by the year 2020, is to have collected hundreds of millions of signatures of support from all over the world. As of September 2017, about 5,155,000 signatures were in hand. Terumi Tanaka, the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo and a promoter of the Hibakusha Appeal, said, “The signatures of local government leaders help raise the public’s awareness and understanding of the signature campaign.” Boosted by the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which played an important role in the establishment of the nuclear weapons ban treaty, Mr. Tanaka intends to make efforts to strengthen the signature campaign.
(Originally published on January 25, 2018)
