(July 9, '97)

As of July 8, a report summarized by the Hiroshima City government indicates that the 4th World Conference of Mayors for Peace through Inter-city Solidarity, which will have the highest number of attendance. It is scheduled to be held from August 4th to the 9th in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Approximately 300 Mayors and delegates will participate from 102 cities and 53 countries, in addition to 42 cities from Japan.

Based on the keynote theme, such as Peace, Justice and Freedom, the conference will promote the Solidarity of Cities toward the total abolition of nuclear weapons following the conclusion of Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Moreover, the sessions will enable participants to discuss other problems such as starvation, poverty, refugees, destruction of environment, and abuse of human rights.

The number of participating cities from overseas has increased to 21 in comparison to previous conferences. The number of cities representing regions of Africa and South America has especially increased. 20 cities will participate from Africa (4 previously), and 4 cities will represent South America for the first time. Further more, 36 cities from Asia, 26 from Europe, 11 from North America, and 5 from Oceania. The sister cities of Hiroshima, Hanover, Germany, Volgograd, Russia and other 4 cities have been participating consecutively since the first conference.

The European Atomic Bombing Exhibition Tour started last May in Barcelona, Spain. 67 cities will participate for the first time including Barcelona. Honolulu, the U.S. and Taegu, Korea will also join the conference for the first time as well as the five cities from the democratized Republic of Africa.

The substantial program is scheduled to start from August 5, beginning with paying respects to the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims along with touring the Hiroshima Peace Museum. The opening ceremony will be held in the Hiroshima International Conference Center at 10:00a.m.

The former director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., Dr. Martin Harwit will give a special lecture based on his experience. He planned to hold an atomic bombing exhibition in the museum 2 years ago. However, he was forced to abandon the project due to opposition from the World War II veterans. Not only that, he was resigned from his post. The lecture is titled, "Nuclear weapons, lessons from history and the future for mankind."

The Plenary Session I will be held following the General Conference and the Meeting with the A-bomb survivors. The theme for session I and II is "The lessons of the 20th century and the issues for the 21st century."

On August 6, the Plenary Session II, Session I and II will be scheduled after the annual Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony. The theme of these sessions is "A world free of nuclear weapons through the efforts of citizens".

The conference location will move to Nagasaki on August 7. A symposium and two sessions will be held on August 8. The participants will attend the annual Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 9. The Plenary Session is scheduled to be held prior to the announcement of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Appeal, which will conclude the conference.