Mayors for Peace to request that Japanese government lead negotiations for nuclear weapons convention
Nov. 9, 2016
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
Mayors for Peace, for which Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui serves as president, held a meeting of its Japanese member cities in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, on November 8. At the meeting, it was decided that the organization will submit a letter of request to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, urging the Japanese government to play a leading role in multilateral negotiations expected to start in March next year for the early realization of a nuclear weapons convention.
The letter welcomes the recent resolution on the start of negotiations, which was adopted last month by the First Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, the body focused on disarmament issues. At the same time, it criticizes the government for opposing this resolution, saying that it acted against the earnest desire of A-bomb survivors and that this was extremely regrettable. The letter calls on the government to involve all nations, including the nuclear weapon states, and take a leading role in constructive discussions as the only nation that has experienced nuclear attack.
Mayor Matsui and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue, who serves as vice president of Mayors for Peace, will deliver the letter to the government at an early date. After the meeting, Mr. Matsui spoke to reporters and said that the government should play a leadership role from the perspective of A-bomb survivors.
During the meeting, it was also confirmed that the organization will support an international signature drive calling for nuclear abolition, which is an effort being made by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations. Mitaka, Tokyo, and two other member cities made presentations on their peace initiatives, such as opening a digital peace museum on the Internet and preserving battle sites from World War II.
This was the sixth meeting of the Japanese member cities of the organization. The two-day meeting, which opened on November 7, was attended by 185 representatives, of whom 49 were mayors, from a record-high 111 municipalities.
(Originally published on November 9, 2016)
Mayors for Peace, for which Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui serves as president, held a meeting of its Japanese member cities in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, on November 8. At the meeting, it was decided that the organization will submit a letter of request to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, urging the Japanese government to play a leading role in multilateral negotiations expected to start in March next year for the early realization of a nuclear weapons convention.
The letter welcomes the recent resolution on the start of negotiations, which was adopted last month by the First Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, the body focused on disarmament issues. At the same time, it criticizes the government for opposing this resolution, saying that it acted against the earnest desire of A-bomb survivors and that this was extremely regrettable. The letter calls on the government to involve all nations, including the nuclear weapon states, and take a leading role in constructive discussions as the only nation that has experienced nuclear attack.
Mayor Matsui and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue, who serves as vice president of Mayors for Peace, will deliver the letter to the government at an early date. After the meeting, Mr. Matsui spoke to reporters and said that the government should play a leadership role from the perspective of A-bomb survivors.
During the meeting, it was also confirmed that the organization will support an international signature drive calling for nuclear abolition, which is an effort being made by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations. Mitaka, Tokyo, and two other member cities made presentations on their peace initiatives, such as opening a digital peace museum on the Internet and preserving battle sites from World War II.
This was the sixth meeting of the Japanese member cities of the organization. The two-day meeting, which opened on November 7, was attended by 185 representatives, of whom 49 were mayors, from a record-high 111 municipalities.
(Originally published on November 9, 2016)
