Hiroshima and Nagasaki mayors send letter to U.S. president-elect Trump to request visit to A-bombed cities
Nov. 17, 2016
by Gosuke Nagahisa, Staff Writer
On November 16, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki sent a joint letter to Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, calling for him to visit the A-bombed cities. With hopes for advancing a world without nuclear weapons growing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima in May, both cities have made an unprecedented request to the U.S. president-elect before his inauguration.
The letter was jointly signed by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue. They urge Mr. Trump to touch the reality of the atomic bombing first-hand in order to fully understand the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, and take to heart the ardent wish of the A-bomb survivors that “No one else should ever suffer as we have.” In addition, the mayors expressed their hopes for him by writing, “We hope that you will break away from the nuclear deterrence mindset and take concrete action towards a world without nuclear weapons.” The letter was sent via international mail to Mr. Trump’s residence at Trump Tower in New York.
The cities sent joint letters to President Obama five times after his inauguration, requesting that he visit the A-bombed cities. In May of this year, Mr. Obama visited Hiroshima, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to do so. An official from the city’s Peace Promotion Division said, “Amid international conditions that have become unfavorable for advancing nuclear disarmament, hopes for the next leader of the nuclear superpower are high.”
Prior to the U.S. presidential election, Mr. Trump made controversial remarks about nuclear policy which virtually gave approval to Japan and South Korea to arm their nations with nuclear weapons. But he reversed course on this comment after the election.
(Originally published on November 17, 2016)
On November 16, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki sent a joint letter to Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, calling for him to visit the A-bombed cities. With hopes for advancing a world without nuclear weapons growing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima in May, both cities have made an unprecedented request to the U.S. president-elect before his inauguration.
The letter was jointly signed by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue. They urge Mr. Trump to touch the reality of the atomic bombing first-hand in order to fully understand the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, and take to heart the ardent wish of the A-bomb survivors that “No one else should ever suffer as we have.” In addition, the mayors expressed their hopes for him by writing, “We hope that you will break away from the nuclear deterrence mindset and take concrete action towards a world without nuclear weapons.” The letter was sent via international mail to Mr. Trump’s residence at Trump Tower in New York.
The cities sent joint letters to President Obama five times after his inauguration, requesting that he visit the A-bombed cities. In May of this year, Mr. Obama visited Hiroshima, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to do so. An official from the city’s Peace Promotion Division said, “Amid international conditions that have become unfavorable for advancing nuclear disarmament, hopes for the next leader of the nuclear superpower are high.”
Prior to the U.S. presidential election, Mr. Trump made controversial remarks about nuclear policy which virtually gave approval to Japan and South Korea to arm their nations with nuclear weapons. But he reversed course on this comment after the election.
(Originally published on November 17, 2016)
