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Junior Writers Reporting

Junior writers appeal for nuclear abolition in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

On the afternoon of April 12, during the time the meeting of foreign ministers of the Non-proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) was being held in Hiroshima, an event called “Ban Nuclear Weapons Now!” was held on the bank of the Motoyasu River in Naka Ward, across from the A-bomb Dome. Twenty junior writers took part in this event, which featured a succession of short speeches on the subject of nuclear abolition. The junior writers gave a 15-minute speech, in both Japanese and English, in which we shared our activities and our thoughts about peace.

In our speech, we said that through reporting on organizations engaged in peace activities or international assistance, and listening to the experiences of A-bomb survivors, we have realized that nuclear weapons must never be used again and that our activities have an important place since we are the last generation able to listen directly to A-bomb testimonies from the survivors.

We then appealed strongly to the foreign ministers of the NPDI nations: “Please understand the reality of the damage caused by nuclear weapons and think about what you can do so the tragedy of the atomic bombings will not be repeated.” We also made an appeal to the Japanese government, saying: “Please be more proactive and help lead the world in abolishing nuclear weapons.”

We ended our speech with the words: “We want to contribute to the world by writing articles. We plan to continue pursuing various activities to promote peace.” Some tourists, including visitors from overseas, stopped and listened to our appeals.

I think holding the NPDI meeting of foreign ministers in Hiroshima was highly significant because I believe that having the participants understand the true damage caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima is the first step in spreading the message of the A-bomb survivors to the world: “Nuclear weapons must be eliminated from the earth.” (Kantaro Matsuo, 15)

(Originally published on April 15, 2014)

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