Hope for nuclear-free world unchanged after 75 years—Hiroshima Mayor calls on nations and civil society to unite, demands government ratify nuclear ban treaty
Aug. 7, 2020
(by Tsuyoshi Kubota, Staff Writer)
On August 6, the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the U.S. military, the Hiroshima City government held the annual Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony at Peace Memorial Park in the city’s centrally located Naka Ward. In his Peace Declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui stressed that civil society and nations need to “unite” together to realize the elimination of nuclear weapons and lasting world peace. He strongly urged that the governments of Japan and other countries sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This year’s Peace Memorial Ceremony was held on an unprecedentedly modest scale to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. The citizens of Hiroshima did not gather at the site of the ceremony, but rather stayed where they were and consoled the souls of those taken by the inhumane weapon.
The total of 785 participants included Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, overseas guests from 83 countries and the European Union, and representatives of A-bomb survivors’ organizations. Among the participants were 23 representatives of bereaved families of victims from all prefectures in Japan, the smallest number ever. To avoid crowds and spaces in which guests would come into close contact during the ceremony, limits on those allowed to enter were expanded and the timeframe for such restrictions was extended. The total number of attendees was reduced by more than 90 percent, and seats were placed at a distance of two-meters apart. No seats were set aside for students to come to the ceremony for peace studies or for the general public.
In his Peace Declaration, Mayor Matsui described the horrifying experience of Kenji Karyo, 88. Mr. Karyo, a resident of Nishi Ward, experienced the atomic bombing at the age of 13. Mr. Matsui quoted his words, “Fighting happens when people think only of themselves or their own countries.” Mr. Matsui criticized the rise of self-centered nationalism, quoting the words of the late Sadako Ogata, who once served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: “No country can live in peace alone.” Ms. Ogata died in October last year.
He continued and said, though people claimed that “nothing will grow here for 75 years,” people in those times joined together through their ordeal and set about the job of reconstructing Hiroshima. He also said it was Hiroshima’s duty to broadly create “a consensus in civil society” for uniting to achieve nuclear weapons abolition. He urged world leaders to create a security system free from reliance on nuclear weapons. Mr. Matsui made a clear demand that the Japanese government heed the appeal of the hibakusha and become a party to the TPNW.
Mr. Matsui also called for “a political decision to expand the ‘black rain areas’.” That statement referenced the July 29 ruling handed down by the Hiroshima District Court that determined all 84 plaintiffs in the case be certified as atomic bomb survivors and receive an A-bomb Survivor’s Certificate, since they had suffered damage to their health after being exposed to rain containing radioactive material outside the specific zone currently recognized by the national government.
In his address, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touched on the national government’s “Three Non-Nuclear Principles” and referred to efforts to bring about a world free of nuclear weapons, but he did not mention the TPNW. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said in a video message, “The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is a further pillar of the disarmament regime, and I look forward to its entry into force.”
The ceremony that day began at 8:00 a.m. Mayor Matsui and two representatives of A-bomb victims’ bereaved family members placed the register of the A-bomb victims in the stone chest beneath the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. After the names of those who died during the past year were added, the register now consists of 119 volumes, two more than last year, and contains the names of 324,129 victims.
At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, all in attendance offered a minute of silent prayer as the Peace Bell was sounded by Toshinobu Matsuki, 46, a resident of Minami Ward, representing the bereaved families of victims, and Minami Takemiya, 11, a sixth grader at Hataka Elementary School, representing children. The Commitment to Peace was read aloud by Shunsuke Omori, 12, from Aki Ward, and Natsumi Nagakura, 12, from Asakita Ward. They are sixth graders at Yanominami Elementary School and Yasukita Elementary School, respectively.
The “Hiroshima Peace Song,” typically performed by a big chorus group and a wind-instrument band, was not part of the ceremony this year. Instead, three high school students sang the song to a piano accompaniment. The piano, which had been exposed to the atomic bombing, was used for the first time at the peace ceremony. Koyuki Hiraga, 17, a third-year student at Motomachi High School played the piano. She won the prize for best performance in the high school division of last year’s Chugoku Youth Music Competition, which was sponsored by the Chugoku Shimbun and others.
■ Rumor had it that “nothing will grow here for 75 years.” And yet, Hiroshima recovered, becoming a symbol of peace. To overcome the new threat to humanity represented by the novel coronavirus, civil society must learn from the tragedies of the past and unite against all threats.
■ The words of a then 13-year-old survivor, Pope Francis, and the late Sadako Ogata, who worked passionately to assist refugees as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, urge us to unite against threats to humanity.
■ Hiroshima is what it is today because our predecessors stood together through their ordeal. Hiroshima considers it our duty to create a consensus in civil society for uniting to achieve nuclear weapons abolition and lasting world peace.
■ The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) are both critical to eliminating nuclear weapons, and we must pass them on to future generations. World leaders must strengthen their resolve to make such frameworks function effectively.
■ We ask the Japanese government to heed the appeal of the hibakusha that it sign, ratify, and become a party to the TPNW. As the only nation to suffer a nuclear attack, Japan must persuade the global public to unite. We demand that the political decision be made to expand the “black rain areas.”
(Originally published on August 7, 2020)
Number of attendees limited due to coronavirus pandemic
On August 6, the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the U.S. military, the Hiroshima City government held the annual Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony at Peace Memorial Park in the city’s centrally located Naka Ward. In his Peace Declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui stressed that civil society and nations need to “unite” together to realize the elimination of nuclear weapons and lasting world peace. He strongly urged that the governments of Japan and other countries sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This year’s Peace Memorial Ceremony was held on an unprecedentedly modest scale to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. The citizens of Hiroshima did not gather at the site of the ceremony, but rather stayed where they were and consoled the souls of those taken by the inhumane weapon.
The total of 785 participants included Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, overseas guests from 83 countries and the European Union, and representatives of A-bomb survivors’ organizations. Among the participants were 23 representatives of bereaved families of victims from all prefectures in Japan, the smallest number ever. To avoid crowds and spaces in which guests would come into close contact during the ceremony, limits on those allowed to enter were expanded and the timeframe for such restrictions was extended. The total number of attendees was reduced by more than 90 percent, and seats were placed at a distance of two-meters apart. No seats were set aside for students to come to the ceremony for peace studies or for the general public.
In his Peace Declaration, Mayor Matsui described the horrifying experience of Kenji Karyo, 88. Mr. Karyo, a resident of Nishi Ward, experienced the atomic bombing at the age of 13. Mr. Matsui quoted his words, “Fighting happens when people think only of themselves or their own countries.” Mr. Matsui criticized the rise of self-centered nationalism, quoting the words of the late Sadako Ogata, who once served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: “No country can live in peace alone.” Ms. Ogata died in October last year.
He continued and said, though people claimed that “nothing will grow here for 75 years,” people in those times joined together through their ordeal and set about the job of reconstructing Hiroshima. He also said it was Hiroshima’s duty to broadly create “a consensus in civil society” for uniting to achieve nuclear weapons abolition. He urged world leaders to create a security system free from reliance on nuclear weapons. Mr. Matsui made a clear demand that the Japanese government heed the appeal of the hibakusha and become a party to the TPNW.
Mr. Matsui also called for “a political decision to expand the ‘black rain areas’.” That statement referenced the July 29 ruling handed down by the Hiroshima District Court that determined all 84 plaintiffs in the case be certified as atomic bomb survivors and receive an A-bomb Survivor’s Certificate, since they had suffered damage to their health after being exposed to rain containing radioactive material outside the specific zone currently recognized by the national government.
In his address, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touched on the national government’s “Three Non-Nuclear Principles” and referred to efforts to bring about a world free of nuclear weapons, but he did not mention the TPNW. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said in a video message, “The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is a further pillar of the disarmament regime, and I look forward to its entry into force.”
The ceremony that day began at 8:00 a.m. Mayor Matsui and two representatives of A-bomb victims’ bereaved family members placed the register of the A-bomb victims in the stone chest beneath the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. After the names of those who died during the past year were added, the register now consists of 119 volumes, two more than last year, and contains the names of 324,129 victims.
At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, all in attendance offered a minute of silent prayer as the Peace Bell was sounded by Toshinobu Matsuki, 46, a resident of Minami Ward, representing the bereaved families of victims, and Minami Takemiya, 11, a sixth grader at Hataka Elementary School, representing children. The Commitment to Peace was read aloud by Shunsuke Omori, 12, from Aki Ward, and Natsumi Nagakura, 12, from Asakita Ward. They are sixth graders at Yanominami Elementary School and Yasukita Elementary School, respectively.
The “Hiroshima Peace Song,” typically performed by a big chorus group and a wind-instrument band, was not part of the ceremony this year. Instead, three high school students sang the song to a piano accompaniment. The piano, which had been exposed to the atomic bombing, was used for the first time at the peace ceremony. Koyuki Hiraga, 17, a third-year student at Motomachi High School played the piano. She won the prize for best performance in the high school division of last year’s Chugoku Youth Music Competition, which was sponsored by the Chugoku Shimbun and others.
Main points of the Peace Declaration:
■ Rumor had it that “nothing will grow here for 75 years.” And yet, Hiroshima recovered, becoming a symbol of peace. To overcome the new threat to humanity represented by the novel coronavirus, civil society must learn from the tragedies of the past and unite against all threats.
■ The words of a then 13-year-old survivor, Pope Francis, and the late Sadako Ogata, who worked passionately to assist refugees as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, urge us to unite against threats to humanity.
■ Hiroshima is what it is today because our predecessors stood together through their ordeal. Hiroshima considers it our duty to create a consensus in civil society for uniting to achieve nuclear weapons abolition and lasting world peace.
■ The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) are both critical to eliminating nuclear weapons, and we must pass them on to future generations. World leaders must strengthen their resolve to make such frameworks function effectively.
■ We ask the Japanese government to heed the appeal of the hibakusha that it sign, ratify, and become a party to the TPNW. As the only nation to suffer a nuclear attack, Japan must persuade the global public to unite. We demand that the political decision be made to expand the “black rain areas.”
(Originally published on August 7, 2020)
