"Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs" opens world conference in Hiroshima
Aug. 3, 2010
by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer
On August 2, the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs and other entities opened the "2010 World Conference against A & H Bombs" at the Hiroshima City Bunka Koryu Kaikan, a municipal hall, in downtown Hiroshima. The participants are, until August 9, holding discussions on the conference's theme "For a Nuclear Weapon-free, Peace and Just World."
Roughly 250 people from home and abroad attended the opening plenary of the world conference's international meeting. Shoji Sawada, director of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, who delivered the opening remarks, referred to the start of negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention and Japan's breakaway from the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" as tasks for Japan to tackle this year, among other things, and said to the audience: "Let us hold fruitful and creative discussions that will lead to a clear strategy for our efforts."
Representing A-bomb survivors (hibakusha), Sueichi Kido, assistant secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, reported how hibakusha shared their A-bomb experiences in New York during the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in May. Mohamed Ezzedine Abdel-Moneim, who is a native of Egypt and special advisor on Disarmament and Strategic Affairs to the League of Arab States, took part in the international meeting as a guest from overseas and called for actions in pursuit of a nuclear weapons convention.
At the subsequent plenary session, too, representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) presented their views on the topic of "The Next Step" toward nuclear abolition. Joseph Gerson, a member of the American Friends Service Committee, proposed the start of a campaign calling for reductions of nuclear development budgets of the nuclear weapon states.
On August 4, the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs and other entities will begin the other World Conference Against A- and H-Bombs in the city of Hiroshima.
(Originally published on August 3, 2010)
On August 2, the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs and other entities opened the "2010 World Conference against A & H Bombs" at the Hiroshima City Bunka Koryu Kaikan, a municipal hall, in downtown Hiroshima. The participants are, until August 9, holding discussions on the conference's theme "For a Nuclear Weapon-free, Peace and Just World."
Roughly 250 people from home and abroad attended the opening plenary of the world conference's international meeting. Shoji Sawada, director of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, who delivered the opening remarks, referred to the start of negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention and Japan's breakaway from the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" as tasks for Japan to tackle this year, among other things, and said to the audience: "Let us hold fruitful and creative discussions that will lead to a clear strategy for our efforts."
Representing A-bomb survivors (hibakusha), Sueichi Kido, assistant secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, reported how hibakusha shared their A-bomb experiences in New York during the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in May. Mohamed Ezzedine Abdel-Moneim, who is a native of Egypt and special advisor on Disarmament and Strategic Affairs to the League of Arab States, took part in the international meeting as a guest from overseas and called for actions in pursuit of a nuclear weapons convention.
At the subsequent plenary session, too, representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) presented their views on the topic of "The Next Step" toward nuclear abolition. Joseph Gerson, a member of the American Friends Service Committee, proposed the start of a campaign calling for reductions of nuclear development budgets of the nuclear weapon states.
On August 4, the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs and other entities will begin the other World Conference Against A- and H-Bombs in the city of Hiroshima.
(Originally published on August 3, 2010)
