Hiroshima Mayor Calls for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

Jiji Press

12:57 JST, July 24, 2024

Hiroshima, July 23 (Jiji Press) — Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui called for the abolition of nuclear weapons at international talks in Geneva on Tuesday, urging the international community not to ignore the voices of peace-loving citizens.

He spoke at the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, just as concerns are mounting over rising nuclear risks due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the tense situation in East Asia.

“With the current international circumstances, we have seen the perception of nuclear weapons drastically shift from weapons that must never be used to weapons that can be used under certain conditions, a shift that we find profoundly concerning,” Matsui said in his speech.

He asked that the international community will adopt “diplomatic efforts through dialogue” to advance concrete nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation measures.

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki also delivered a speech. He called atomic bombs “cruel weapons that mercilessly rob people of the sanctity of living a decent life.”

“Make Nagasaki the last wartime atomic bombing site,” Suzuki added.

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and another on Nagasaki three days later toward the end of World War II.

Michiko Kodama, 86, of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, recounted her experience of being exposed to radiation in Hiroshima when she was 7 years old.

“I was in a school building when the tremendous light and blast shattered the window glass,” she said. Reflecting on the loss of her parents, younger brother and daughter to cancer believed to be linked to the radiation, she said, “Don’t ever create any more atomic bomb victims.”

Yayoi Tsuchida, 67, of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, or Gensuikyo, demanded the abolition of nuclear weapons, saying that “now is the time to listen to the voices of hibakusha survivors and other citizens.”