A-bomb survivors express hope that meeting of foreign ministers will be held in Hiroshima
Jun. 22, 2015
by Michiko Tanaka and Masanori Wada, Staff Writers
The Japanese government has begun discussions to hold a meeting of foreign ministers in Hiroshima next year prior to the Ise Shima summit. The news on June 17 raised the hopes of A-bomb survivors for the meeting of foreign ministers to be held here in the A-bombed city.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, 73, the vice chairman of one faction of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi, said with anticipation, “This would be a good chance to express our earnest desire for the abolition of nuclear weapons.” He had been very disappointed when recently Hiroshima was not selected as the venue for next year’s summit meeting. Mr. Mimaki therefore sees significance in Hiroshima welcoming the foreign ministers who head the diplomatic efforts of their nations, including from the nuclear weapon states.
Kunihiko Sakuma, the vice chairman of the other faction of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, said, “I hope that the foreign ministers will visit Hiroshima and take sufficient time to learn about the effects and the suffering caused by the atomic bombing.”
At this year’s Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), held in April and May, language which called for world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki was removed from the final document. Hoping that the foreign ministers’ meeting will be held in Hiroshima, Mr. Sakuma said, “People out in the world don’t fully realize what nuclear weapons do to human beings. I’d like the leaders of the world to see and hear the catastrophe of the atomic bombing with their own eyes and ears so they will review their nuclear policies.”
Meanwhile, on June 18, Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, and HCCI (Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry) Chairman Hideki Fukayama will meet with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Hiroshima public-private summit bidding promotion council, and submit a letter of request seeking to host the foreign minister’s meeting in Hiroshima. They will also ask the Japanese government to encourage the leaders of each country to visit Hiroshima during their stay in Japan so they can see the reality of the atomic bombing first-hand.
(Originally published on June 18, 2015)
The Japanese government has begun discussions to hold a meeting of foreign ministers in Hiroshima next year prior to the Ise Shima summit. The news on June 17 raised the hopes of A-bomb survivors for the meeting of foreign ministers to be held here in the A-bombed city.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, 73, the vice chairman of one faction of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi, said with anticipation, “This would be a good chance to express our earnest desire for the abolition of nuclear weapons.” He had been very disappointed when recently Hiroshima was not selected as the venue for next year’s summit meeting. Mr. Mimaki therefore sees significance in Hiroshima welcoming the foreign ministers who head the diplomatic efforts of their nations, including from the nuclear weapon states.
Kunihiko Sakuma, the vice chairman of the other faction of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, said, “I hope that the foreign ministers will visit Hiroshima and take sufficient time to learn about the effects and the suffering caused by the atomic bombing.”
At this year’s Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), held in April and May, language which called for world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki was removed from the final document. Hoping that the foreign ministers’ meeting will be held in Hiroshima, Mr. Sakuma said, “People out in the world don’t fully realize what nuclear weapons do to human beings. I’d like the leaders of the world to see and hear the catastrophe of the atomic bombing with their own eyes and ears so they will review their nuclear policies.”
Meanwhile, on June 18, Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, and HCCI (Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry) Chairman Hideki Fukayama will meet with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Hiroshima public-private summit bidding promotion council, and submit a letter of request seeking to host the foreign minister’s meeting in Hiroshima. They will also ask the Japanese government to encourage the leaders of each country to visit Hiroshima during their stay in Japan so they can see the reality of the atomic bombing first-hand.
(Originally published on June 18, 2015)
