Goal of collecting 12 million signatures pledged at Bikini Day gathering
Mar. 2, 2010
by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer
A Bikini Day national conference was held in Shizuoka Prefecture on February 28, one day before the 56th anniversary of the hydrogen bomb test by the United States on the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. In the test, a Japanese tuna fishing boat, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (The Lucky Dragon No. 5), which had been based in the city of Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, was exposed to nuclear fallout. At the rally held by the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, about 1,200 participants pledged to collect 12 million signatures for a petition calling for a world without nuclear weapons. The petition will be submitted to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference scheduled for May.
Hiroshi Takakusaki, general secretary of the Council made a keynote speech and announced that more than 4 million signatures had been collected to call for a prompt start to negotiations for the elimination of nuclear weapons. He added, "Let's make this movement reach all corners of the country, and convey the will of the Japanese people to the NPT Review Conference." Enthusiasm was expressed by A-bomb survivors and younger participants who will attend events related to the conference in New York.
Reporting on activities held outside Japan, Mr. Joseph Gerson of the American Friends Service Committee, an American citizens' group, said that the U.S. government's policies give priority to nuclear nonproliferation, not elimination. He called for international cooperation for abolishing nuclear weapons.
More events, including a rally, will be held in Yaizu on March 1. The Japan Congress Against A- and H-bombs, another antinuclear organization, will also hold a rally in the city of Shizuoka.
(Originally published on March 1, 2010)
Related articles
Rallies held in Yaizu and Hiroshima to mark H-bomb test (March 5, 2009)
The hidden truth of the Bikini Incident (March 7, 2008)
A Bikini Day national conference was held in Shizuoka Prefecture on February 28, one day before the 56th anniversary of the hydrogen bomb test by the United States on the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. In the test, a Japanese tuna fishing boat, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (The Lucky Dragon No. 5), which had been based in the city of Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, was exposed to nuclear fallout. At the rally held by the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, about 1,200 participants pledged to collect 12 million signatures for a petition calling for a world without nuclear weapons. The petition will be submitted to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference scheduled for May.
Hiroshi Takakusaki, general secretary of the Council made a keynote speech and announced that more than 4 million signatures had been collected to call for a prompt start to negotiations for the elimination of nuclear weapons. He added, "Let's make this movement reach all corners of the country, and convey the will of the Japanese people to the NPT Review Conference." Enthusiasm was expressed by A-bomb survivors and younger participants who will attend events related to the conference in New York.
Reporting on activities held outside Japan, Mr. Joseph Gerson of the American Friends Service Committee, an American citizens' group, said that the U.S. government's policies give priority to nuclear nonproliferation, not elimination. He called for international cooperation for abolishing nuclear weapons.
More events, including a rally, will be held in Yaizu on March 1. The Japan Congress Against A- and H-bombs, another antinuclear organization, will also hold a rally in the city of Shizuoka.
(Originally published on March 1, 2010)
Related articles
Rallies held in Yaizu and Hiroshima to mark H-bomb test (March 5, 2009)
The hidden truth of the Bikini Incident (March 7, 2008)
