Hiroshima Mayor requests IOC to observe moment of silence at Olympic venues on anniversary of atomic bombing on August 6
Jul. 26, 2021
On July 29, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, by email and post, sent the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach a letter of request to call for observing a moment of silence at venues of the Tokyo Olympic Games at 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6, which will come during the Tokyo Olympics.
The letter of request referred to Mr. Bach's remark during his visit to Hiroshima on July 16: "The Olympic and Paralympic Games at Tokyo 2020 will be a beacon of hope for a better and more peaceful future." The letter urged Mr. Bach to call on those involved in the Games to participate, in their minds, in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, to be held at the same time in Hiroshima City, by offering a silent prayer at the Olympic Village and other Olympic venues.
According to the city's Peace Promotion Division, Mayor Matsui received a request from the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (chaired by Sunao Tsuboi) to make the request to the IOC on July 26, and decided to send the letter of request. The division said that it sincerely hoped the IOC would consider the request in a manner that the request would not interfere with the games and management of the Olympics. The Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations and the Hiroshima Congress Against A- and H-Bombs also made a similar request to the IOC.
(Originally published on July 30, 2021)
The letter of request referred to Mr. Bach's remark during his visit to Hiroshima on July 16: "The Olympic and Paralympic Games at Tokyo 2020 will be a beacon of hope for a better and more peaceful future." The letter urged Mr. Bach to call on those involved in the Games to participate, in their minds, in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, to be held at the same time in Hiroshima City, by offering a silent prayer at the Olympic Village and other Olympic venues.
According to the city's Peace Promotion Division, Mayor Matsui received a request from the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (chaired by Sunao Tsuboi) to make the request to the IOC on July 26, and decided to send the letter of request. The division said that it sincerely hoped the IOC would consider the request in a manner that the request would not interfere with the games and management of the Olympics. The Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations and the Hiroshima Congress Against A- and H-Bombs also made a similar request to the IOC.
(Originally published on July 30, 2021)
