Austrian ambassador meets Hiroshima mayor, agrees to enhance cooperation for nuclear abolition
Nov. 15, 2016
by Gosuke Nagahisa, Staff Writer
Hubert Heiss, 61, the Austrian ambassador to Japan, made his first visit to Hiroshima on November 14. He met with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui at City Hall, and the two agreed to enhance their cooperation to advance the cause of abolishing nuclear weapons.
Austria is one of the leading advocates of a treaty to ban nuclear arms. Along with other countries, it submitted a resolution calling on nations to begin negotiations in March of next year to realize such a treaty, and the resolution was adopted in October by the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which deals with disarmament and international security issues.
Welcoming Mr. Heiss, Mayor Matsui said, “Austria has been serving as the driving force in promoting better understanding of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.” About the Japanese government’s opposition to the resolution, Mr. Heiss said he understands that the Japanese government is in a difficult position because of concerns related to its neighbors in the region, adding that Austria maintains a strong interest in the nuclear problem and will do its utmost to help bring about the total abolition of nuclear weapons.
Mr. Heiss toured the Peace Memorial Museum, offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, and visited the A-bomb Dome. Mr. Heiss assumed his current post this past September.
(Originally published on November 15, 2016)
Hubert Heiss, 61, the Austrian ambassador to Japan, made his first visit to Hiroshima on November 14. He met with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui at City Hall, and the two agreed to enhance their cooperation to advance the cause of abolishing nuclear weapons.
Austria is one of the leading advocates of a treaty to ban nuclear arms. Along with other countries, it submitted a resolution calling on nations to begin negotiations in March of next year to realize such a treaty, and the resolution was adopted in October by the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which deals with disarmament and international security issues.
Welcoming Mr. Heiss, Mayor Matsui said, “Austria has been serving as the driving force in promoting better understanding of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.” About the Japanese government’s opposition to the resolution, Mr. Heiss said he understands that the Japanese government is in a difficult position because of concerns related to its neighbors in the region, adding that Austria maintains a strong interest in the nuclear problem and will do its utmost to help bring about the total abolition of nuclear weapons.
Mr. Heiss toured the Peace Memorial Museum, offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, and visited the A-bomb Dome. Mr. Heiss assumed his current post this past September.
(Originally published on November 15, 2016)
