First Meeting of States Parties to TPNW: A-bomb survivors, college students hold online press conference before visiting Austria to voice support for nuclear abolition
Jun. 8, 2022
by Kana Kobayashi
On June 7, ahead of the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and other related events to be held in Vienna, Austria, June 21–23, atomic bomb survivors and college students scheduled to visit the European city held an online press conference. As the risk of nuclear weapons’ use increases against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine, the group’s members emphasized their determination to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons through accounts of A-bombing experiences and associated gatherings.
Prior to the States Parties meeting, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a non-governmental organization (NGO), is scheduled to hold related events in Vienna on June 18 and 19th. A variety of events are scheduled, including the International Conference on the Humanitarian Impacts on Nuclear Weapons, a meeting to be hosted by Austria on June 20.
The press conference was attended by representatives from 13 organizations, including the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), the Peace Boat organization, and the Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition. Sueichi Kido, 82, secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, and Masashi Ieshima, 79, representative director of the organization, will attend the ICAN events and youth gatherings. Mr. Ieshima, who experienced the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, stressed his wish to convey “the message that nuclear weapons must not be used,” based on his own experiences with cancer.
Japan’s national government is reluctant to participate in the States Parties meeting but will send a delegation to the international conference on humanitarian impacts. Masao Tomonaga, 79, chairperson of the Organizing Committee for the Nagasaki Global Citizens’ Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and an A-bomb survivor, will participate in the international conference with Mr. Kido. “It is necessary to convey the voices of A-bomb survivors,” said he said, given the current negative stance toward the treaty adopted by nuclear weapons states and other nations.
Yuta Takahashi, 21, is a senior at Keio University who will visit Austria under appointment by Japan’s Foreign Ministry as a Youth Communicator for a World without Nuclear Weapons and co-chair of Know Nukes Tokyo, a group of young people working to abolish nuclear weapons. “I want to bring back to Japan the methods, connections, and passion for promotion of the abolition of nuclear weapons in solidarity with the rest of the world,” said Mr. Takahashi.
Setsuko Thurlow, 90, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor who resides in Canada, will participate in the ICAN events online. To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Ms. Thurlow has decided to not make the trip to Austria.
(Originally published on June 8, 2022)
On June 7, ahead of the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and other related events to be held in Vienna, Austria, June 21–23, atomic bomb survivors and college students scheduled to visit the European city held an online press conference. As the risk of nuclear weapons’ use increases against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine, the group’s members emphasized their determination to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons through accounts of A-bombing experiences and associated gatherings.
Prior to the States Parties meeting, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a non-governmental organization (NGO), is scheduled to hold related events in Vienna on June 18 and 19th. A variety of events are scheduled, including the International Conference on the Humanitarian Impacts on Nuclear Weapons, a meeting to be hosted by Austria on June 20.
The press conference was attended by representatives from 13 organizations, including the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), the Peace Boat organization, and the Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition. Sueichi Kido, 82, secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, and Masashi Ieshima, 79, representative director of the organization, will attend the ICAN events and youth gatherings. Mr. Ieshima, who experienced the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, stressed his wish to convey “the message that nuclear weapons must not be used,” based on his own experiences with cancer.
Japan’s national government is reluctant to participate in the States Parties meeting but will send a delegation to the international conference on humanitarian impacts. Masao Tomonaga, 79, chairperson of the Organizing Committee for the Nagasaki Global Citizens’ Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and an A-bomb survivor, will participate in the international conference with Mr. Kido. “It is necessary to convey the voices of A-bomb survivors,” said he said, given the current negative stance toward the treaty adopted by nuclear weapons states and other nations.
Yuta Takahashi, 21, is a senior at Keio University who will visit Austria under appointment by Japan’s Foreign Ministry as a Youth Communicator for a World without Nuclear Weapons and co-chair of Know Nukes Tokyo, a group of young people working to abolish nuclear weapons. “I want to bring back to Japan the methods, connections, and passion for promotion of the abolition of nuclear weapons in solidarity with the rest of the world,” said Mr. Takahashi.
Setsuko Thurlow, 90, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor who resides in Canada, will participate in the ICAN events online. To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Ms. Thurlow has decided to not make the trip to Austria.
(Originally published on June 8, 2022)
