Nagasaki calls for nuke abolition, Japan to play leading role
Aug. 10, 2010
by Sayo Sasaki
Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue appealed Monday for the world to work toward the elimination of nuclear weapons and for the Japanese government to demonstrate its leadership on the issue on the 65th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city during World War II.
In this year's Peace Declaration delivered at a ceremony in the southwestern city's Peace Park, which was attended by representatives of a record 32 countries, including nuclear weapons states Britain and France for the first time, Taue said people have the ''responsibility to realize a world without the fear of nuclear weapons.''
The peace ceremony followed the first-ever visit to the city by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Thursday. It also came three days after a ceremony to mark the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that was attended by a U.S. ambassador for the first time. The United States did not send any representative to Nagasaki.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo issued a comment after the memorial, saying that Ambassador John Roos did not attend the service due to schedule conflicts but he hopes to attend the ceremony in Nagasaki in the future.
The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, killing an estimated 74,000 people in the immediate blast and its aftermath by the end of the year. The attack came three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
The morning ceremony commenced with a choir performance by a group of atomic bombing survivors. People offered silent prayers at 11:02 a.m. and laid wreaths at the memorial as representatives of nuclear weapons states Russia and Pakistan, and de facto nuclear power Israel also took part in the event.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano, the first Asian head of the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog, was among the first attendees at the ceremony.
Referring in the peace declaration to the world's nuclear powers, which opposed setting a time frame for the abolition of nuclear weapons at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May, Taue expressed deep concern regarding their ''lack of sincere commitment.''
He also expressed strong support for the Nuclear Weapons Convention, a new international treaty for a complete ban on nuclear weapons, saying the U.N. chief had also urged U.N. member states to consider it.
In his speech, Taue criticized the Japanese government over its handling of nuclear issues, referring to the recent start of talks on a civil nuclear cooperation deal with India, which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
''This means that a nation that has suffered atomic bombings itself is now severely weakening the NPT regime, which is beyond intolerable,'' he said.
He also referred to the recent revelation of a secret Japan-U.S. nuclear pact, which effectively left room for the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan, saying it had led to ''profound distrust'' of the government for turning the country's three non-nuclear principles into a ''mere formality.''
He urged the government to take a leadership role in eliminating nuclear weapons and to enshrine into law the principles of not possessing, producing or introducing nuclear weapons in Japan, which currently remain a national policy.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said in a speech that he will work with the two Japanese cities that suffered atomic bombings and make efforts in translating atomic bomb survivors' testimonies into major languages, something Ban repeatedly proposed after meeting with a number of survivors during his visit to the city and Hiroshima.
Kan also said Japan has a moral responsibility to take the lead in moves to realize a world without nuclear weapons as a country that has experienced atomic bombings.
In representing the atomic bomb survivors, Yasunobu Uchida, 81, who was exposed to the atomic bomb as a 16-year-old, said, ''It is now time for Japan to stand at the forefront and lead the world toward abolition and a total ban on nuclear weapons.''
''Japan must come out from under the nuclear umbrella, enshrine its three non-nuclear principles in law and strictly abide by them,'' he said.
The average age of the atomic bomb survivors is 76.73 and the number of certified ''hibakusha'' had fallen to 227,565 as of the end of March, from a peak of over 370,000.
In June this year, Japan launched talks with India to conclude a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation deal, with the intention of exporting Japanese nuclear power generation technology and related equipment to India.
In March, meanwhile, a Japanese Foreign Ministry panel concluded that a secret pact on nuclear arms had been reached by Japan and the United States allowing U.S. nuclear-armed vessels to visit Japanese ports, despite Japan's three non-nuclear principles.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Aug. 9, 2010)
Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue appealed Monday for the world to work toward the elimination of nuclear weapons and for the Japanese government to demonstrate its leadership on the issue on the 65th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city during World War II.
In this year's Peace Declaration delivered at a ceremony in the southwestern city's Peace Park, which was attended by representatives of a record 32 countries, including nuclear weapons states Britain and France for the first time, Taue said people have the ''responsibility to realize a world without the fear of nuclear weapons.''
The peace ceremony followed the first-ever visit to the city by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Thursday. It also came three days after a ceremony to mark the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that was attended by a U.S. ambassador for the first time. The United States did not send any representative to Nagasaki.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo issued a comment after the memorial, saying that Ambassador John Roos did not attend the service due to schedule conflicts but he hopes to attend the ceremony in Nagasaki in the future.
The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, killing an estimated 74,000 people in the immediate blast and its aftermath by the end of the year. The attack came three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
The morning ceremony commenced with a choir performance by a group of atomic bombing survivors. People offered silent prayers at 11:02 a.m. and laid wreaths at the memorial as representatives of nuclear weapons states Russia and Pakistan, and de facto nuclear power Israel also took part in the event.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano, the first Asian head of the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog, was among the first attendees at the ceremony.
Referring in the peace declaration to the world's nuclear powers, which opposed setting a time frame for the abolition of nuclear weapons at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May, Taue expressed deep concern regarding their ''lack of sincere commitment.''
He also expressed strong support for the Nuclear Weapons Convention, a new international treaty for a complete ban on nuclear weapons, saying the U.N. chief had also urged U.N. member states to consider it.
In his speech, Taue criticized the Japanese government over its handling of nuclear issues, referring to the recent start of talks on a civil nuclear cooperation deal with India, which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
''This means that a nation that has suffered atomic bombings itself is now severely weakening the NPT regime, which is beyond intolerable,'' he said.
He also referred to the recent revelation of a secret Japan-U.S. nuclear pact, which effectively left room for the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan, saying it had led to ''profound distrust'' of the government for turning the country's three non-nuclear principles into a ''mere formality.''
He urged the government to take a leadership role in eliminating nuclear weapons and to enshrine into law the principles of not possessing, producing or introducing nuclear weapons in Japan, which currently remain a national policy.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said in a speech that he will work with the two Japanese cities that suffered atomic bombings and make efforts in translating atomic bomb survivors' testimonies into major languages, something Ban repeatedly proposed after meeting with a number of survivors during his visit to the city and Hiroshima.
Kan also said Japan has a moral responsibility to take the lead in moves to realize a world without nuclear weapons as a country that has experienced atomic bombings.
In representing the atomic bomb survivors, Yasunobu Uchida, 81, who was exposed to the atomic bomb as a 16-year-old, said, ''It is now time for Japan to stand at the forefront and lead the world toward abolition and a total ban on nuclear weapons.''
''Japan must come out from under the nuclear umbrella, enshrine its three non-nuclear principles in law and strictly abide by them,'' he said.
The average age of the atomic bomb survivors is 76.73 and the number of certified ''hibakusha'' had fallen to 227,565 as of the end of March, from a peak of over 370,000.
In June this year, Japan launched talks with India to conclude a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation deal, with the intention of exporting Japanese nuclear power generation technology and related equipment to India.
In March, meanwhile, a Japanese Foreign Ministry panel concluded that a secret pact on nuclear arms had been reached by Japan and the United States allowing U.S. nuclear-armed vessels to visit Japanese ports, despite Japan's three non-nuclear principles.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Aug. 9, 2010)
