City of Hiroshima begins a council to craft this year’s Peace Declaration, hoping to deliver a message of nuclear abolition resonating with young people
Apr. 23, 2025
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
On April 22, the City of Hiroshima held a first meeting of the council to review a draft of statements written in Peace Declaration for the upcoming Peace Memorial Ceremony which commemorates the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing. Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who served as the council’s chair, mentioned the importance of conveying a message calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons, which would especially appeal to young generation under the present international situation of conflicts ongoing in different nations.
All eight council members attended the meeting, including researchers and faculty of peace-related disciplines, and two A-bomb survivors: Mikio Saiki, 93, resident of Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, and Teruko Yahata, 87, resident of Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture. At the start of the meeting, Mr. Matsui explained to participants that more people in the public sphere began to think threatening others with armed force was somewhat “realistic” option, given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the unstable situation in the Middle East region. Then he suggested participants share their opinions to advance the effort towards elimination of nuclear weapons.
After the closed-door discussion was held, Mr. Matsui responded to questions from the media, and said there was an opinion that the Declaration should include a sense of crisis created by the fact that the current framework in the world to aim at building a peaceful world is in danger of collapse. He then added, “We need to create an opportunity for young people to think the elimination of nuclear weapons is something relevant to their life.”
The council’s meeting will take place two more times. An outline of the Peace Declaration will be discussed in the early June meeting. Then, the Declaration’s draft will be reviewed in the council in early July.
(Originally published on April 23, 2025)
On April 22, the City of Hiroshima held a first meeting of the council to review a draft of statements written in Peace Declaration for the upcoming Peace Memorial Ceremony which commemorates the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing. Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who served as the council’s chair, mentioned the importance of conveying a message calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons, which would especially appeal to young generation under the present international situation of conflicts ongoing in different nations.
All eight council members attended the meeting, including researchers and faculty of peace-related disciplines, and two A-bomb survivors: Mikio Saiki, 93, resident of Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, and Teruko Yahata, 87, resident of Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture. At the start of the meeting, Mr. Matsui explained to participants that more people in the public sphere began to think threatening others with armed force was somewhat “realistic” option, given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the unstable situation in the Middle East region. Then he suggested participants share their opinions to advance the effort towards elimination of nuclear weapons.
After the closed-door discussion was held, Mr. Matsui responded to questions from the media, and said there was an opinion that the Declaration should include a sense of crisis created by the fact that the current framework in the world to aim at building a peaceful world is in danger of collapse. He then added, “We need to create an opportunity for young people to think the elimination of nuclear weapons is something relevant to their life.”
The council’s meeting will take place two more times. An outline of the Peace Declaration will be discussed in the early June meeting. Then, the Declaration’s draft will be reviewed in the council in early July.
(Originally published on April 23, 2025)
