[The Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons] Kunihiko Sakuma, chair of Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, testifies about “black rain” in New York, calling for “campaigns with nuclear victims throughout the world”
Dec. 3, 2023
by Fumiyasu Miyano, Staff Writer
New York--On November 30, Kunihiko Sakuma, 79, chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, who visited New York in time for the meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, testified about radioactive “black rain” which fell after the atomic bombing in a meeting held in front of the Japanese consulate. He said he hoped to promote campaigns in solidarity with nuclear victims throughout the world, mentioning the TPNW, which stipulates relief for nuclear victims.
Mr. Sakuma was exposed to black rain at about nine months old on the back of his mother. He said he suffered from liver and kidney diseases ten years after the bombing. Looking back, he said he could not forget thinking that he might die, because he suffered greatly. He talked about A-bomb survivors’ actions to win relief measures for victims of black rain in lawsuits in Japan and raised his voice, saying the accumulation of such a battle would become a step toward nuclear abolition.
The meeting was organized by an anti-nuclear organization in New York and the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. About 80 people joined the meeting and raised a voice in protest against Japan’s national government, which did not attend, as an observer, the meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
(Originally published on December 3, 2023)
New York--On November 30, Kunihiko Sakuma, 79, chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, who visited New York in time for the meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, testified about radioactive “black rain” which fell after the atomic bombing in a meeting held in front of the Japanese consulate. He said he hoped to promote campaigns in solidarity with nuclear victims throughout the world, mentioning the TPNW, which stipulates relief for nuclear victims.
Mr. Sakuma was exposed to black rain at about nine months old on the back of his mother. He said he suffered from liver and kidney diseases ten years after the bombing. Looking back, he said he could not forget thinking that he might die, because he suffered greatly. He talked about A-bomb survivors’ actions to win relief measures for victims of black rain in lawsuits in Japan and raised his voice, saying the accumulation of such a battle would become a step toward nuclear abolition.
The meeting was organized by an anti-nuclear organization in New York and the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. About 80 people joined the meeting and raised a voice in protest against Japan’s national government, which did not attend, as an observer, the meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
(Originally published on December 3, 2023)
