Collection of writing by A-bomb survivors to be distributed at ICNND meeting
Oct. 16, 2009
by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer
A booklet sharing atomic bomb experiences and messages to further the cause of nuclear abolition will be distributed at a meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), which will begin in Hiroshima on October 17. The booklet was compiled by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations.
Both a Japanese version and an English version were made for the A-4 size booklet consisting of 12 pages. Along with the horrific experiences suffered by atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha), the booklet contains the hibakusha's hope that the United States, which dropped the atomic bombs, and Japan, which suffered the attacks, will play a leading role in abolishing nuclear weapons.
After the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations called on hibakusha nationwide to contribute messages for the booklet, submissions were received from 1,030 survivors. The messages of about 90 out of the 1,030 hibakusha were selected and included in the booklet. Copies of the booklet will be offered to world leaders in the run-up to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference next year.
Terumi Tanaka, secretary-general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, said, "We will continue to convey our messages to help strengthen the determination of world leaders to abolish nuclear weapons." The confederation will, through the U.S. embassy, seek a future meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, who will visit Japan next month.
(Originally published on October 16, 2009)
A booklet sharing atomic bomb experiences and messages to further the cause of nuclear abolition will be distributed at a meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), which will begin in Hiroshima on October 17. The booklet was compiled by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations.
Both a Japanese version and an English version were made for the A-4 size booklet consisting of 12 pages. Along with the horrific experiences suffered by atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha), the booklet contains the hibakusha's hope that the United States, which dropped the atomic bombs, and Japan, which suffered the attacks, will play a leading role in abolishing nuclear weapons.
After the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations called on hibakusha nationwide to contribute messages for the booklet, submissions were received from 1,030 survivors. The messages of about 90 out of the 1,030 hibakusha were selected and included in the booklet. Copies of the booklet will be offered to world leaders in the run-up to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference next year.
Terumi Tanaka, secretary-general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, said, "We will continue to convey our messages to help strengthen the determination of world leaders to abolish nuclear weapons." The confederation will, through the U.S. embassy, seek a future meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, who will visit Japan next month.
(Originally published on October 16, 2009)
