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A-bomb survivors and others protest U.S. nuclear tests Sit-in held in front of Hiroshima’s memorial cenotaph

by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer

The Hiroshima Peace Liaison Conference for Nuclear Abolition conducted a sit-in on November 5 to protest two tests of nuclear capability that were conducted by the United States in September and October. The conference is an association of 12 organizations including the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations chaired by Sunao Tsuboi and the Hiroshima local of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation. The sit-in was held in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward.

A total of 85 people participated, including atomic bomb survivors and labor union members. The demonstrators began their sit-in at 6:00 p.m., holding a banner calling for a “ban of nuclear weapons” and “everlasting peace” in both Japanese and English and protesting against the tests. In his statement Mr. Tsuboi said, “The atomic bombing resulted in unimaginable mental and physical suffering. To continue to carry out tests with the aim of taking people’s lives is outrageous.”

Since Barack Obama took office as president, a total of 12 tests of this type have been conducted, starting in November 2010. Saying the tests “present a serious challenge to international opinion calling for global peace,” the liaison organization sent a letter to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo on November 6 urging an immediate halt to the tests.

(Originally published on November 6, 2014)

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