Students submit declaration from Hiroshima Junior International Forum to Japanese foreign minister
Aug. 31, 2016
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
On August 31, seven high school students, participants of the Hiroshima Junior International Forum which took place from August 21 to 24, visited Fumio Kishida, Japan’s foreign minister, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and handed him the declaration they drafted at the forum. This declaration includes recommendations for advancing the abolition of nuclear arms. At the forum, young people from 17 nations and regions gathered in Hiroshima and engaged in discussions that focused on global peace.
The group of seven students included first- to third-year students at high schools in Hiroshima Prefecture. Nanami Oku, 15, a resident of Aki Ward and a first-year student at AICJ High School, handed Mr. Kishida the four-page declaration intended to help advance nuclear abolition and build peace. “We developed this declaration with great care, giving attention to every word in it,” she said to him. “We hope the efforts made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will reflect the recommendations in this statement.” The participants of the forum created the declaration through group discussions and other activities.
After a closed-door discussion with Mr. Kishida, Ms. Oku said, “Foreign Minister Kishida told us that our declaration would be used as a point of reference. We want to continue conveying the horror of nuclear weapons in our own ways and learning more about current conditions in the world.”
The forum was hosted by Hiroshima Prefecture, and involved the participation of 83 young people. Emphasizing that the current framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is not enough to advance nuclear disarmament, the declaration recommends that all nations sign a new treaty to ban and abolish nuclear weapons.
Read the full text of the Hiroshima Junior International Forum Declaration here.
(Originally published on August 31, 2016)
On August 31, seven high school students, participants of the Hiroshima Junior International Forum which took place from August 21 to 24, visited Fumio Kishida, Japan’s foreign minister, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and handed him the declaration they drafted at the forum. This declaration includes recommendations for advancing the abolition of nuclear arms. At the forum, young people from 17 nations and regions gathered in Hiroshima and engaged in discussions that focused on global peace.
The group of seven students included first- to third-year students at high schools in Hiroshima Prefecture. Nanami Oku, 15, a resident of Aki Ward and a first-year student at AICJ High School, handed Mr. Kishida the four-page declaration intended to help advance nuclear abolition and build peace. “We developed this declaration with great care, giving attention to every word in it,” she said to him. “We hope the efforts made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will reflect the recommendations in this statement.” The participants of the forum created the declaration through group discussions and other activities.
After a closed-door discussion with Mr. Kishida, Ms. Oku said, “Foreign Minister Kishida told us that our declaration would be used as a point of reference. We want to continue conveying the horror of nuclear weapons in our own ways and learning more about current conditions in the world.”
The forum was hosted by Hiroshima Prefecture, and involved the participation of 83 young people. Emphasizing that the current framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is not enough to advance nuclear disarmament, the declaration recommends that all nations sign a new treaty to ban and abolish nuclear weapons.
Read the full text of the Hiroshima Junior International Forum Declaration here.
(Originally published on August 31, 2016)
