Beatrice Fihn, head of ICAN, visits Hiroshima and calls it city of hope for nuclear abolition
Jan. 16, 2018
by Kyosuke Mizukawa and Yoshiaki Kido, Staff Writers
On January 15, Beatrice Fihn, 35, the executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), visited the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima. ICAN is the non-governmental organization (NGO) which made important contributions to the establishment of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Ms. Fihn took in the true damage caused by the atomic bombing, as well as the city’s efforts for peace, and stressed that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are cities of hope for advancing the abolition of nuclear weapons. She called on all countries, including the nuclear-armed nations, to send their leaders to the A-bombed cities and take part in the treaty.
This was Ms. Fihn’s first visit to Hiroshima. With Akira Kawasaki, 49, a member of ICAN’s international steering committee, she offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. Then she moved to the Peace Memorial Museum and observed the exhibits, such as a computer graphics display which depicts the devastation of the city in the aftermath of the atomic bombing and personal effects left behind by students who were killed in the A-bomb attack. At the International Conference Center Hiroshima, she met with Keiko Ogura, 80, an A-bomb survivor and resident of Naka Ward, and listened to her experience of the bombing, in which she described A-bomb victims with severe burns and spoke about her desire for nuclear abolition. Responding to questions from reporters, Ms. Fihn said that her heart ached when she listened to the survivor’s story, but this also reaffirmed her resolve and her hope for making change in the world. She added that she would like to expand the nuclear abolition movement to all the world’s nations.
She also took part in a forum at the conference center, and praised the efforts made by the A-bomb survivors, which she said helped bring the treaty into being. The forum was hosted by the City of Hiroshima and other organizations and joined by 340 citizens, including young people. Expressing concern about the new, smaller-size nuclear weapons being developed by the United States, as this could lower the threshold for the use of nuclear arms, Ms. Fihn cautioned that this was now the closest we have come to the use of nuclear weapons in recent history. In order to address this danger, she called on all nations to participate in the nuclear weapons ban treaty and begin the process of their elimination. She also talked about the need for political leaders to visit the A-bombed cities.
Ms. Fihn offered words of encouragement to four young people who made presentations about their peace activities, such as a signature drive, by stressing the use of social networking sites and the importance of appealing to politicians so that the Japanese government’s stance can change. Yuuri Motofuji, 16, a presenter from Minami Ward and a second-year student at Hiroshima Jogakuin High School, said, “Because our daily efforts aren’t so fancy, I’ve wondered how important they really are. But ICAN has done a lot with its steady efforts. I plan to share Ms. Fihn’s words with the students I work with.”
(Originally published on January 16, 2018)
On January 15, Beatrice Fihn, 35, the executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), visited the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima. ICAN is the non-governmental organization (NGO) which made important contributions to the establishment of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Ms. Fihn took in the true damage caused by the atomic bombing, as well as the city’s efforts for peace, and stressed that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are cities of hope for advancing the abolition of nuclear weapons. She called on all countries, including the nuclear-armed nations, to send their leaders to the A-bombed cities and take part in the treaty.
This was Ms. Fihn’s first visit to Hiroshima. With Akira Kawasaki, 49, a member of ICAN’s international steering committee, she offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. Then she moved to the Peace Memorial Museum and observed the exhibits, such as a computer graphics display which depicts the devastation of the city in the aftermath of the atomic bombing and personal effects left behind by students who were killed in the A-bomb attack. At the International Conference Center Hiroshima, she met with Keiko Ogura, 80, an A-bomb survivor and resident of Naka Ward, and listened to her experience of the bombing, in which she described A-bomb victims with severe burns and spoke about her desire for nuclear abolition. Responding to questions from reporters, Ms. Fihn said that her heart ached when she listened to the survivor’s story, but this also reaffirmed her resolve and her hope for making change in the world. She added that she would like to expand the nuclear abolition movement to all the world’s nations.
She also took part in a forum at the conference center, and praised the efforts made by the A-bomb survivors, which she said helped bring the treaty into being. The forum was hosted by the City of Hiroshima and other organizations and joined by 340 citizens, including young people. Expressing concern about the new, smaller-size nuclear weapons being developed by the United States, as this could lower the threshold for the use of nuclear arms, Ms. Fihn cautioned that this was now the closest we have come to the use of nuclear weapons in recent history. In order to address this danger, she called on all nations to participate in the nuclear weapons ban treaty and begin the process of their elimination. She also talked about the need for political leaders to visit the A-bombed cities.
Ms. Fihn offered words of encouragement to four young people who made presentations about their peace activities, such as a signature drive, by stressing the use of social networking sites and the importance of appealing to politicians so that the Japanese government’s stance can change. Yuuri Motofuji, 16, a presenter from Minami Ward and a second-year student at Hiroshima Jogakuin High School, said, “Because our daily efforts aren’t so fancy, I’ve wondered how important they really are. But ICAN has done a lot with its steady efforts. I plan to share Ms. Fihn’s words with the students I work with.”
(Originally published on January 16, 2018)
