U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry responded to letter from former director of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Apr. 19, 2016
by Gosuke Nagahisa, Staff Writer
It has been learned that John Kerry, the current U.S. secretary of state, responded to a letter from a former director of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in 1985. Akihiro Takahashi, an A-bomb survivor and the former museum director, wrote a letter to Mr. Kerry asking that he pay a visit to Hiroshima. In response, Mr. Kerry wrote: “...never again should any human being be subjected to the tragedy of a nuclear bomb.” Thirty-one years later, Mr. Takahashi’s request will be fulfilled when Mr. Kerry visits Hiroshima to take part in the meeting of foreign ministers on April 10 and 11. Fumie Takahashi, 79, Mr. Takahashi’s widow, hopes that Mr. Kerry will understand the devastating consequences of the atomic bombing and make every effort to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons. Mr. Takahashi died in 2011 at the age of 80.
After serving in the Vietnam War, Mr. Kerry became a well-known antiwar activist. He was first elected to a Senate seat in 1984. According to Ms. Takahashi, her husband was empathetic toward Mr. Kerry’s activities and sent him a letter dated August 6, 1984. In the letter, Mr. Takahashi described his experience of the atomic bombing and asked Mr. Kerry to visit Hiroshima. Mr. Kerry’s reply, a signed letter, was received in March 1985.
“Your letter…is terribly moving and carries a message that no one should ever forget: The message is simple – never again should any human being be subjected to the tragedy of a nuclear bomb. I will be placing your statement in the Congressional Record so that others can read your powerful and sad testimony,” Mr. Kerry wrote.
The letter was found when Ms. Takahashi was organizing her husband’s belongings at their home around 2013. “I remember that he and I were both surprised to receive the reply. My husband felt strongly that he was able to convey his thoughts to Mr. Kerry,” Ms. Takahashi said. She then donated the letter to the museum.
Mr. Takahashi was 14 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He became a city official and served as director of the peace museum for four years, starting in 1979. After receiving Mr. Kerry’s reply, Mr. Takahashi continued to send letters to him. In one letter he expressed concerns after the U.S. conducted a nuclear test in 1987. When Mr. Kerry won the Democratic nomination for president in 2004, Mr. Takahashi sent a letter of encouragement and received a reply from his campaign office.
Ms. Takahashi wrote a letter to Mr. Kerry in December 2014, asking him and President Barack Obama to visit Hiroshima. “It is the will of my late husband that both of you will acknowledge the need for a world without nuclear weapons,” she wrote. To date, she has not received a reply.
Mr. Kerry will be the first secretary of state of the country that dropped the atomic bomb to visit Hiroshima while in office. On April 11, he and other foreign ministers will lay flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and tour the peace museum. Ms. Takahashi said, “I will be happy if my husband’s wish is realized after 30 years, even if this is only a tiny part of his hopes.”
(Originally published on April 8, 2016)
It has been learned that John Kerry, the current U.S. secretary of state, responded to a letter from a former director of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in 1985. Akihiro Takahashi, an A-bomb survivor and the former museum director, wrote a letter to Mr. Kerry asking that he pay a visit to Hiroshima. In response, Mr. Kerry wrote: “...never again should any human being be subjected to the tragedy of a nuclear bomb.” Thirty-one years later, Mr. Takahashi’s request will be fulfilled when Mr. Kerry visits Hiroshima to take part in the meeting of foreign ministers on April 10 and 11. Fumie Takahashi, 79, Mr. Takahashi’s widow, hopes that Mr. Kerry will understand the devastating consequences of the atomic bombing and make every effort to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons. Mr. Takahashi died in 2011 at the age of 80.
After serving in the Vietnam War, Mr. Kerry became a well-known antiwar activist. He was first elected to a Senate seat in 1984. According to Ms. Takahashi, her husband was empathetic toward Mr. Kerry’s activities and sent him a letter dated August 6, 1984. In the letter, Mr. Takahashi described his experience of the atomic bombing and asked Mr. Kerry to visit Hiroshima. Mr. Kerry’s reply, a signed letter, was received in March 1985.
“Your letter…is terribly moving and carries a message that no one should ever forget: The message is simple – never again should any human being be subjected to the tragedy of a nuclear bomb. I will be placing your statement in the Congressional Record so that others can read your powerful and sad testimony,” Mr. Kerry wrote.
The letter was found when Ms. Takahashi was organizing her husband’s belongings at their home around 2013. “I remember that he and I were both surprised to receive the reply. My husband felt strongly that he was able to convey his thoughts to Mr. Kerry,” Ms. Takahashi said. She then donated the letter to the museum.
Mr. Takahashi was 14 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He became a city official and served as director of the peace museum for four years, starting in 1979. After receiving Mr. Kerry’s reply, Mr. Takahashi continued to send letters to him. In one letter he expressed concerns after the U.S. conducted a nuclear test in 1987. When Mr. Kerry won the Democratic nomination for president in 2004, Mr. Takahashi sent a letter of encouragement and received a reply from his campaign office.
Ms. Takahashi wrote a letter to Mr. Kerry in December 2014, asking him and President Barack Obama to visit Hiroshima. “It is the will of my late husband that both of you will acknowledge the need for a world without nuclear weapons,” she wrote. To date, she has not received a reply.
Mr. Kerry will be the first secretary of state of the country that dropped the atomic bomb to visit Hiroshima while in office. On April 11, he and other foreign ministers will lay flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and tour the peace museum. Ms. Takahashi said, “I will be happy if my husband’s wish is realized after 30 years, even if this is only a tiny part of his hopes.”
(Originally published on April 8, 2016)
