Elimination of nuclear weapons crucial: Nihon Hidankyo delivers request to government before G7 Summit
Apr. 15, 2023
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
On April 14, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) submitted a written request to the Japanese government. Regarding the Summit of The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations to be held in Hiroshima in May, the request addressed to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida points out that “the abolition of nuclear weapons” is crucial in order to protect humanity while Russia is repeatedly threating to use nuclear weapons. The request also calls for dialogue between the leaders of those nations and A-bomb survivors.
Five members of Nihon Hidankyo, including its co-chair Terumi Tanaka, 90, visited Shigeki Ito, deputy director-general of the Disarmament, Non-proliferation, and Science Department, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handed the written request to him. They also requested the leaders take enough time to tour the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and that an agenda item on nuclear abolition be included in discussions among the leaders.
Mr. Ito said, “We want to demonstrate our strong commitment to ensuring the horrors of nuclear weapons will never happen again.” He also said, “Conveying the reality of the atomic bombings is the starting point for nuclear disarmament. We are giving thorough consideration to the leaders’ visit to the Peace Museum among other things.”
During the closed-door discussions, the government reportedly stressed the importance of continuing not to use nuclear weapons, as no nuclear weapons have been used for the past 77 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the meeting, Masako Wada, 79, assistant secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, said, “I am not satisfied with the non-use of nuclear weapons. I want them to discuss the elimination of nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on April 15, 2023)
On April 14, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) submitted a written request to the Japanese government. Regarding the Summit of The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations to be held in Hiroshima in May, the request addressed to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida points out that “the abolition of nuclear weapons” is crucial in order to protect humanity while Russia is repeatedly threating to use nuclear weapons. The request also calls for dialogue between the leaders of those nations and A-bomb survivors.
Five members of Nihon Hidankyo, including its co-chair Terumi Tanaka, 90, visited Shigeki Ito, deputy director-general of the Disarmament, Non-proliferation, and Science Department, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handed the written request to him. They also requested the leaders take enough time to tour the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and that an agenda item on nuclear abolition be included in discussions among the leaders.
Mr. Ito said, “We want to demonstrate our strong commitment to ensuring the horrors of nuclear weapons will never happen again.” He also said, “Conveying the reality of the atomic bombings is the starting point for nuclear disarmament. We are giving thorough consideration to the leaders’ visit to the Peace Museum among other things.”
During the closed-door discussions, the government reportedly stressed the importance of continuing not to use nuclear weapons, as no nuclear weapons have been used for the past 77 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the meeting, Masako Wada, 79, assistant secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, said, “I am not satisfied with the non-use of nuclear weapons. I want them to discuss the elimination of nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on April 15, 2023)
