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ICAN executive director calls for Japan to join nuclear weapons ban treaty at discussion in Nagasaki

by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer

On January 13, Beatrice Fihn, 35, the executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), joined a panel discussion about the nuclear weapons ban treaty with an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and other participants. The event took place in Nagasaki, during Ms. Fihn’s visit there. ICAN is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that played an important role in the establishment of the treaty and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. In her remarks, Ms. Fihn directed criticism at the Japanese government, which has turned its back on the treaty, by saying that she wondered if the government thought it acceptable to repeat the tragedies that took place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And she shared her hopes that the people of the A-bombed cities will strengthen their efforts to press Japan to become a signatory to the treaty as soon as possible.

Nagasaki University organized the discussion at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, and about 350 people, including Nagasaki citizens, were in attendance. The event began with Ms. Fihn delivering a keynote speech, in which she said that the treaty would not have been created without the long-running efforts of the A-bomb survivors, expressing her appreciation for how they have spoken out about their experiences of the devastating A-bomb attacks. She then called on the Japanese government to join the treaty and play a leading role in eliminating nuclear weapons. She said that when all citizens speak out with one voice and appeal for change, the government will be unable to ignore this demand, and she asked the public to strengthen their grassroots activities.

In the panel discussion that took place after Ms. Fihn’s speech, Nobuharu Imanishi, the director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cited the nuclear ambitions of North Korea as an example and argued, “Because Japan is now faced with severe security conditions, it is necessary to maintain U.S. nuclear deterrence. If Japan participates in the treaty, the legitimacy of nuclear deterrence will be lost, and this could expose the Japanese people to danger.” In his comments, Mr. Imanishi reiterated Japan’s current stance of taking a phased approach to the goal of nuclear disarmament.

In response, Ms. Fihn said that nuclear deterrence may at first sound like a rational idea but that it would ultimately result in genocide. Masao Tomonaga, 74, an A-bomb survivor in Nagasaki, and Akira Kawasaki, 49, a member of ICAN’s international steering committee, also urged the government to take advantage of the treaty to realize the abolition of nuclear weapons, but the participants came to no agreement during their discussion.

Prior to the event, Ms. Fihn laid flowers at the monument that marks the bomb’s hypocenter in Nagasaki Peace Park, then visited the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum to see artifacts of the A-bomb victims. On January 15, she will come to Hiroshima and engage in dialogue with young people.

(Originally published on January 14, 2018)

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