International symposium in Hiroshima focused on abolishing nuclear arms and handing down A-bomb survivors’ accounts
Jul. 27, 2015
by Rie Nii, Staff Writer
On July 20, an international symposium entitled “Seventy Years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Nuclear Abolition and Passing on Atomic Bomb Survivors’ Accounts of the Atrocities” was held at the International Conference Center Hiroshima in Naka Ward. The symposium was sponsored by Hiroshima City University, the Nagasaki University Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, and the Chugoku Shimbun. Panelists discussed the possibilities and the challenges involved in the abolition of nuclear weapons and affirmed the importance of handing down the survivors’ accounts of the atomic bombings to future generations.
The symposium began with Mitsuru Kurosawa, the first president of the Japan Association of Disarmament Studies and a professor at the graduate school of Osaka Jogakuin University, delivering a keynote speech in front of an audience of about 250. Referring to this spring’s Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), which took place after a five-year interval, Mr. Kurosawa said that although the final document was not adopted, the conference participants reached a consensus on nuclear disarmament and the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. He said, “Despite the criticism of the NPT Review Conference for ending in failure, I am not discouraged because a path heading toward the abolition of nuclear weapons has been presented.”
Akiko Mikamo, a second-generation A-bomb survivor and a doctor of clinical psychology, pointed out that there is little research data on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in atomic bomb survivors and thus it is inevitable that advances will be made in this field. Ms. Mikamo is originally from the city of Hiroshima, but now lives in the United States. She said, “People are not free if they continue to harbor hatred. Empathy and compassion toward others will lead to the power of forgiveness.”
Michiko Tanaka, a staff writer for the Chugoku Shimbun who covered the NPT Review Conference, and Akira Kawasaki, a member of the international steering committee of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), both emphasized that in creating a legal framework to ban nuclear weapons, the focus will be on how Japan chooses to act. Despite its identity as the A-bombed nation, Japan continues to rely on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for its security.
Junior writers from the Chugoku Shimbun and students from Nagasaki University also took part in the symposium, representing both A-bombed cities. They reported on their activities, which include handing down the accounts of atomic bomb survivors.
In the panel discussion, Mr. Kurosawa, Ms. Mikamo, Mr. Kawasaki, and two other panelists shared their thoughts on the inhumanity of nuclear arms and potential paths for abolishing these weapons.
(Originally published on July 21, 2015)
On July 20, an international symposium entitled “Seventy Years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Nuclear Abolition and Passing on Atomic Bomb Survivors’ Accounts of the Atrocities” was held at the International Conference Center Hiroshima in Naka Ward. The symposium was sponsored by Hiroshima City University, the Nagasaki University Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, and the Chugoku Shimbun. Panelists discussed the possibilities and the challenges involved in the abolition of nuclear weapons and affirmed the importance of handing down the survivors’ accounts of the atomic bombings to future generations.
The symposium began with Mitsuru Kurosawa, the first president of the Japan Association of Disarmament Studies and a professor at the graduate school of Osaka Jogakuin University, delivering a keynote speech in front of an audience of about 250. Referring to this spring’s Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), which took place after a five-year interval, Mr. Kurosawa said that although the final document was not adopted, the conference participants reached a consensus on nuclear disarmament and the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. He said, “Despite the criticism of the NPT Review Conference for ending in failure, I am not discouraged because a path heading toward the abolition of nuclear weapons has been presented.”
Akiko Mikamo, a second-generation A-bomb survivor and a doctor of clinical psychology, pointed out that there is little research data on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in atomic bomb survivors and thus it is inevitable that advances will be made in this field. Ms. Mikamo is originally from the city of Hiroshima, but now lives in the United States. She said, “People are not free if they continue to harbor hatred. Empathy and compassion toward others will lead to the power of forgiveness.”
Michiko Tanaka, a staff writer for the Chugoku Shimbun who covered the NPT Review Conference, and Akira Kawasaki, a member of the international steering committee of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), both emphasized that in creating a legal framework to ban nuclear weapons, the focus will be on how Japan chooses to act. Despite its identity as the A-bombed nation, Japan continues to rely on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for its security.
Junior writers from the Chugoku Shimbun and students from Nagasaki University also took part in the symposium, representing both A-bombed cities. They reported on their activities, which include handing down the accounts of atomic bomb survivors.
In the panel discussion, Mr. Kurosawa, Ms. Mikamo, Mr. Kawasaki, and two other panelists shared their thoughts on the inhumanity of nuclear arms and potential paths for abolishing these weapons.
(Originally published on July 21, 2015)
