A-bomb survivors pursue signature drive in Tokyo on International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Sep. 27, 2016
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
On September 26, a day designated by the United Nations as International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, A-bomb survivors living in the Tokyo metropolitan area held a signature drive calling for a nuclear treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear arms in front of JR Shibuya Station in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
The signature drive was proposed by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization (Nihon Hidankyo) in March. Responding to a call by the association of A-bomb survivors promoting this global effort, which is comprised of citizens’ groups and other organizations, about 80 people, including survivors, took part in the signature drive on this day. Mikiso Iwasa, 87, the chairperson of Nihon Hidankyo, made an appeal by saying, “We A-bomb survivors should be the last ones to suffer the torment caused by nuclear weapons. I hope our voices will help change the mindset of the nuclear nations and free human beings from the nuclear era.”
The participants asked shoppers and international visitors to lend their support, and gathered the signatures of 344 people in about an hour. In early October, Toshiki Fujimori, 72, the assistant secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo will submit these signatures, along with others gathered throughout Japan, to the U.N. General Assembly, which is now taking place in New York. The signature drive will go on after this submission, seeking to spur the establishment of a nuclear weapons convention by the year 2020.
In connection with the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the association issued a statement online and appealed for people all over the world to unite so that nuclear weapons can be abolished as swiftly as possible.
(Originally published on September 27, 2016)
On September 26, a day designated by the United Nations as International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, A-bomb survivors living in the Tokyo metropolitan area held a signature drive calling for a nuclear treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear arms in front of JR Shibuya Station in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
The signature drive was proposed by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization (Nihon Hidankyo) in March. Responding to a call by the association of A-bomb survivors promoting this global effort, which is comprised of citizens’ groups and other organizations, about 80 people, including survivors, took part in the signature drive on this day. Mikiso Iwasa, 87, the chairperson of Nihon Hidankyo, made an appeal by saying, “We A-bomb survivors should be the last ones to suffer the torment caused by nuclear weapons. I hope our voices will help change the mindset of the nuclear nations and free human beings from the nuclear era.”
The participants asked shoppers and international visitors to lend their support, and gathered the signatures of 344 people in about an hour. In early October, Toshiki Fujimori, 72, the assistant secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo will submit these signatures, along with others gathered throughout Japan, to the U.N. General Assembly, which is now taking place in New York. The signature drive will go on after this submission, seeking to spur the establishment of a nuclear weapons convention by the year 2020.
In connection with the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the association issued a statement online and appealed for people all over the world to unite so that nuclear weapons can be abolished as swiftly as possible.
(Originally published on September 27, 2016)
