Editorial: Nagasaki Peace Declaration; Hiroshima must share Nagasaki’s concern for expanding nuclear arms race
Aug. 10, 2019
The Peace Declaration read out by Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue on the anniversary of the Nagasaki A-bombing stressed that the danger of the use of a nuclear weapon is growing. This is due to, in recent years, the United States and Russia, both nuclear superpowers, along with North Korea, undermining the efforts of the international community to advance toward a world without nuclear weapons.
In his declaration, Mr. Taue said that the power of civic groups will come to play an even more important role, and he encouraged civil society throughout the world to speak out and insist that nuclear weapons are not necessary. It is vital that this sense of danger is shared by Hiroshima and that messages of nuclear abolition and peace are communicated to the whole world.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that stipulated the complete abolition of particular types of nuclear weapons possessed by the United States and Russia, has now been dissolved. The two nations are reportedly pursuing the development of small-sized nuclear arms. Unless the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is extended after it expires in February 2021, it will also terminate and leave no brake on an expanding nuclear arms race. We must not condone such conditions.
To this point, the power of civic groups has generated momentum for nuclear abolition. It makes sense, then, that the City of Nagasaki has included the words of civil society in its declaration each year. If a wave of solidarity among the world’s people is created and it spreads widely, this would surely act as a brake against the growth of a new nuclear arms race.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted at the United Nations in 2017, is another achievement resulting from the efforts of groups in civil society, such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a non-governmental organization. ICAN is also leading a campaign which calls for avoiding investments or national budget expenditures in the nuclear weapons industry.
Like last year, Mr. Taue called on the Japanese government to sign and ratify the nuclear weapons ban treaty in the declaration he made as the mayor of Nagasaki. This was a stronger appeal compared to the wording used by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui when he asked the government to sign and ratify the treaty in Hiroshima’s Peace Declaration, saying that this was a “request by the hibakusha (A-bomb survivors).”
In the two years since the treaty was adopted, 25 nations and regions have now ratified it. To realize ratification by 50 nations and regions, the number needed for the treaty to enter into force, the action taken by the A-bombed nation is being tested.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, didn’t say a word about the nuclear weapons ban treaty in the speech he delivered at the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Nagasaki. He didn’t mention maintaining Japan’s pacifist Constitution, either, basically repeating what he said when he spoke in Hiroshima. Such speeches won’t be persuasive to the A-bomb survivors or the citizens of the two cities.
Regarding the Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), a meeting held once every five years, with the next meeting to take place next spring, Mr. Abe said that Japan was determined to reach out proactively to other countries so it could help produce a meaningful outcome. However, a wide divide exists between the nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states. And the nuclear-armed nations, including the United States and Russia, have exacerbated this conflict. Mr. Abe should urge the nuclear weapon states to demonstrate a concrete path toward the elimination of their nuclear arsenals.
The declaration made in Nagasaki called on the Japanese government to shift from relying on the U.S. nuclear umbrella to adopting a non-nuclear umbrella. The idea is to make northeast Asia, including Japan, South Korea, and North Korea, a nuclear-weapon-free zone and have the United States, Russia, and China pledge not to make or threaten to make a nuclear attack in this zone. The Japanese government should give this appeal serious consideration.
Meanwhile, the A-bomb survivors are growing older. The number of survivors in Japan who hold the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate is about 140,000 as of the end of March of this year. Their average age is 82.65, and the number of survivors fell by about 9,000 over the last 12 months. Without fail, we must pass on our efforts to convey the horror of nuclear weapons to the next generation.
The frustration felt by the survivors was expressed in the words read out by their representative, Yoshiro Yamawaki, 85, in Nagasaki’s Commitment to Peace. Mr. Yamawaki called on the government to urge all the nuclear weapon states to abolish their nuclear arms while the A-bomb survivors are still alive.
To realize a world free of nuclear weapons, we need civic groups to show their strength. Toward that end, we must all raise our voices.
(Originally published on August 10, 2019)
In his declaration, Mr. Taue said that the power of civic groups will come to play an even more important role, and he encouraged civil society throughout the world to speak out and insist that nuclear weapons are not necessary. It is vital that this sense of danger is shared by Hiroshima and that messages of nuclear abolition and peace are communicated to the whole world.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that stipulated the complete abolition of particular types of nuclear weapons possessed by the United States and Russia, has now been dissolved. The two nations are reportedly pursuing the development of small-sized nuclear arms. Unless the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is extended after it expires in February 2021, it will also terminate and leave no brake on an expanding nuclear arms race. We must not condone such conditions.
To this point, the power of civic groups has generated momentum for nuclear abolition. It makes sense, then, that the City of Nagasaki has included the words of civil society in its declaration each year. If a wave of solidarity among the world’s people is created and it spreads widely, this would surely act as a brake against the growth of a new nuclear arms race.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted at the United Nations in 2017, is another achievement resulting from the efforts of groups in civil society, such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a non-governmental organization. ICAN is also leading a campaign which calls for avoiding investments or national budget expenditures in the nuclear weapons industry.
Like last year, Mr. Taue called on the Japanese government to sign and ratify the nuclear weapons ban treaty in the declaration he made as the mayor of Nagasaki. This was a stronger appeal compared to the wording used by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui when he asked the government to sign and ratify the treaty in Hiroshima’s Peace Declaration, saying that this was a “request by the hibakusha (A-bomb survivors).”
In the two years since the treaty was adopted, 25 nations and regions have now ratified it. To realize ratification by 50 nations and regions, the number needed for the treaty to enter into force, the action taken by the A-bombed nation is being tested.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, didn’t say a word about the nuclear weapons ban treaty in the speech he delivered at the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Nagasaki. He didn’t mention maintaining Japan’s pacifist Constitution, either, basically repeating what he said when he spoke in Hiroshima. Such speeches won’t be persuasive to the A-bomb survivors or the citizens of the two cities.
Regarding the Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), a meeting held once every five years, with the next meeting to take place next spring, Mr. Abe said that Japan was determined to reach out proactively to other countries so it could help produce a meaningful outcome. However, a wide divide exists between the nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states. And the nuclear-armed nations, including the United States and Russia, have exacerbated this conflict. Mr. Abe should urge the nuclear weapon states to demonstrate a concrete path toward the elimination of their nuclear arsenals.
The declaration made in Nagasaki called on the Japanese government to shift from relying on the U.S. nuclear umbrella to adopting a non-nuclear umbrella. The idea is to make northeast Asia, including Japan, South Korea, and North Korea, a nuclear-weapon-free zone and have the United States, Russia, and China pledge not to make or threaten to make a nuclear attack in this zone. The Japanese government should give this appeal serious consideration.
Meanwhile, the A-bomb survivors are growing older. The number of survivors in Japan who hold the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate is about 140,000 as of the end of March of this year. Their average age is 82.65, and the number of survivors fell by about 9,000 over the last 12 months. Without fail, we must pass on our efforts to convey the horror of nuclear weapons to the next generation.
The frustration felt by the survivors was expressed in the words read out by their representative, Yoshiro Yamawaki, 85, in Nagasaki’s Commitment to Peace. Mr. Yamawaki called on the government to urge all the nuclear weapon states to abolish their nuclear arms while the A-bomb survivors are still alive.
To realize a world free of nuclear weapons, we need civic groups to show their strength. Toward that end, we must all raise our voices.
(Originally published on August 10, 2019)
