Prayers for nuclear abolition made in Hiroshima on International Peace Day
Oct. 2, 2014
by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer
On September 21, the day designated as International Peace Day by the United Nations, the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation held an event to commemorate the occasion at Peace Memorial Park and appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
This event has been held by the City of Hiroshima and other entities on September 21 since 2012, marking the third year it has taken place. About 30 people, including members of both groups bearing the name Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations and the Japanese Consumers’ Cooperative Union (JCCU) Hiroshima, as well as high school students who are engaged in peace activities, took part in the event. After laying flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, the participants offered a silent prayer as the Peace Bell tolled. They also displayed a banner of Mayors for Peace, which has been seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.
Yuichiro Sakurai, 17, a second-year student at Hiroshima Gakuin High School, who is involved in a petition drive by junior and senior high school students in support of abolishing nuclear weapons, said, “We would like to make this appeal to the public so that people think about peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons on days besides August 6.”
(Originally published on September 22, 2014)
On September 21, the day designated as International Peace Day by the United Nations, the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation held an event to commemorate the occasion at Peace Memorial Park and appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
This event has been held by the City of Hiroshima and other entities on September 21 since 2012, marking the third year it has taken place. About 30 people, including members of both groups bearing the name Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations and the Japanese Consumers’ Cooperative Union (JCCU) Hiroshima, as well as high school students who are engaged in peace activities, took part in the event. After laying flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, the participants offered a silent prayer as the Peace Bell tolled. They also displayed a banner of Mayors for Peace, which has been seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.
Yuichiro Sakurai, 17, a second-year student at Hiroshima Gakuin High School, who is involved in a petition drive by junior and senior high school students in support of abolishing nuclear weapons, said, “We would like to make this appeal to the public so that people think about peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons on days besides August 6.”
(Originally published on September 22, 2014)
