ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn calls on Hiroshima citizens to request participation in TPNW
Nov. 25, 2022
by Kana Kobayashi, Staff Writer
Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the non-governmental organization International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), has been at the forefront of grassroots activities aimed at the elimination of nuclear weapons. In an exclusive online interview with the Chugoku Shimbun on November 24, Ms. Fihn called on the citizens of Hiroshima, host of the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations), to be held in May next year, to communicate to other nations Hiroshima’s desire for their participation in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and involvement in efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
Ms. Fihn told the story about her first visit to Hiroshima, in January 2018, and how it was an eye-opening experience for her. On her trip to the city, she visited Peace Memorial Park, in the city’s centrally located Naka Ward, with Akira Kawasaki, a member of the ICAN international steering committee. Together they laid a wreath at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. About the experience, she recalled how she had observed water bottles placed on “memorials in the park, revealing the understanding that many survivors after the bombing had sought water.” Describing meetings she had with A-bomb survivors as well as the city’s recovery, she emphasized how she had been moved emotionally and powerfully by simultaneously seeing the terror wrought by the nuclear weapon and the recovery of the city.
Recently, on November 22, Ms. Fihn announced her decision to step down as ICAN’s executive director at the end of January 2023. Asked in the interview about the reason for her resignation and her future plans, she declined to share details, saying only that she wanted “to remain focused on her work.” According to announcements made by ICAN and other sources, Ms. Fihn will apparently continue her efforts for achieving implementation of the TPNW.
During the interview, Ms. Fihn indicated her willingness to visit Hiroshima again. As a message to residents of the A-bombed city, the host at next year’s G7 summit of leaders from other nations including the nuclear-armed United States, United Kingdom, and France, she called on “the people of Hiroshima to lobby Japan’s national government to ensure that the country will take the lead in efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on November 25, 2022)
Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the non-governmental organization International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), has been at the forefront of grassroots activities aimed at the elimination of nuclear weapons. In an exclusive online interview with the Chugoku Shimbun on November 24, Ms. Fihn called on the citizens of Hiroshima, host of the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations), to be held in May next year, to communicate to other nations Hiroshima’s desire for their participation in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and involvement in efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
Ms. Fihn told the story about her first visit to Hiroshima, in January 2018, and how it was an eye-opening experience for her. On her trip to the city, she visited Peace Memorial Park, in the city’s centrally located Naka Ward, with Akira Kawasaki, a member of the ICAN international steering committee. Together they laid a wreath at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. About the experience, she recalled how she had observed water bottles placed on “memorials in the park, revealing the understanding that many survivors after the bombing had sought water.” Describing meetings she had with A-bomb survivors as well as the city’s recovery, she emphasized how she had been moved emotionally and powerfully by simultaneously seeing the terror wrought by the nuclear weapon and the recovery of the city.
Recently, on November 22, Ms. Fihn announced her decision to step down as ICAN’s executive director at the end of January 2023. Asked in the interview about the reason for her resignation and her future plans, she declined to share details, saying only that she wanted “to remain focused on her work.” According to announcements made by ICAN and other sources, Ms. Fihn will apparently continue her efforts for achieving implementation of the TPNW.
During the interview, Ms. Fihn indicated her willingness to visit Hiroshima again. As a message to residents of the A-bombed city, the host at next year’s G7 summit of leaders from other nations including the nuclear-armed United States, United Kingdom, and France, she called on “the people of Hiroshima to lobby Japan’s national government to ensure that the country will take the lead in efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on November 25, 2022)