Further tests by U.S. to check nation’s nuclear arsenal stir anger in Hiroshima
Nov. 13, 2014
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
On November 4, Hiroshima responded strongly to the news that the United States conducted tests to check the capability of its nuclear arsenal in September and October. A-bomb survivors expressed anger, saying, “What happened to ‘a world without nuclear weapons’?” The City of Hiroshima and Hiroshima Prefecture have sent letters of protest to President Barack Obama.
“These tests run counter to the international trend toward nuclear abolition,” said Kazuo Okoshi, 74, secretary general of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Kazushi Kaneko. It was only two weeks ago that a total of 155 countries and regions, including Japan, issued a joint statement on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons at the First Committee (disarmament) of the United Nations General Assembly. The statement demands that nuclear weapons never be used again. “While supporting the joint statement, the Japanese government gives a tacit nod to U.S. nuclear tests. This doesn’t make sense,” said Mr. Okoshi.
Sunao Tsuboi, 89, chair of the other Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, commented, “It seems that the United States is trying to show that the nation is ready for war. I can’t overlook this. I want to tell them that these tests must be the last.”
In his letter of protest, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui criticized the nuclear tests, saying that they provide an excuse for other countries to pursue the development of nuclear weapons. He also asked that the sad, painful experiences of the A-bomb survivors be understood. Hidehiko Yuzaki, the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, stated that the U.S. tests are a hindrance to the growing international movement to abolish nuclear arms.
Kazumi Mizumoto, vice president of the Hiroshima Peace Institute of Hiroshima City University and an expert on nuclear disarmament, expressed a pessimistic outlook on action by the United States to advance nuclear disarmament: “The United States has carried out specialized nuclear tests to maintain the capability of its nuclear weapons. Even though President Obama holds out the ideal of nuclear abolition, he is losing the support of the public. In these conditions, it is unlikely that he will go out of his way to significantly reduce the nation’s nuclear arsenal, which would provoke the antipathy of Republicans.”
(Originally published on November 5, 2014)
On November 4, Hiroshima responded strongly to the news that the United States conducted tests to check the capability of its nuclear arsenal in September and October. A-bomb survivors expressed anger, saying, “What happened to ‘a world without nuclear weapons’?” The City of Hiroshima and Hiroshima Prefecture have sent letters of protest to President Barack Obama.
“These tests run counter to the international trend toward nuclear abolition,” said Kazuo Okoshi, 74, secretary general of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Kazushi Kaneko. It was only two weeks ago that a total of 155 countries and regions, including Japan, issued a joint statement on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons at the First Committee (disarmament) of the United Nations General Assembly. The statement demands that nuclear weapons never be used again. “While supporting the joint statement, the Japanese government gives a tacit nod to U.S. nuclear tests. This doesn’t make sense,” said Mr. Okoshi.
Sunao Tsuboi, 89, chair of the other Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, commented, “It seems that the United States is trying to show that the nation is ready for war. I can’t overlook this. I want to tell them that these tests must be the last.”
In his letter of protest, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui criticized the nuclear tests, saying that they provide an excuse for other countries to pursue the development of nuclear weapons. He also asked that the sad, painful experiences of the A-bomb survivors be understood. Hidehiko Yuzaki, the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, stated that the U.S. tests are a hindrance to the growing international movement to abolish nuclear arms.
Kazumi Mizumoto, vice president of the Hiroshima Peace Institute of Hiroshima City University and an expert on nuclear disarmament, expressed a pessimistic outlook on action by the United States to advance nuclear disarmament: “The United States has carried out specialized nuclear tests to maintain the capability of its nuclear weapons. Even though President Obama holds out the ideal of nuclear abolition, he is losing the support of the public. In these conditions, it is unlikely that he will go out of his way to significantly reduce the nation’s nuclear arsenal, which would provoke the antipathy of Republicans.”
(Originally published on November 5, 2014)
