'Promise Hibakusha Japan won't acquire nuclear weapons'

About 50 Hibakusha (A-bomb survivors) from the Japan Confederation of A and H Bombs Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo) assembled in front of the Prime Minister's Official Residence on June 6 in protest against the chief cabinet secretary's recent suggestion that the Three Non-nuclear Principles may be altered.

A 72-year-old women from Kumamoto Prefecture said, "I have been hospitalized 21 times including 3 times to undergo surgery to remove cancer. No more Nagasakis, please."

"I suffered from diarrhea for 17 years causing my ribs to stand out. The chief cabinet secretary must resign if he does not cancel his remark on acquiring nuclear weapons," said a 72- year-old Hibakusha who lives in Chiba Prefecture.

On the same day, other Hidankyo members visited government ministries and foreign embassies calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

They requested the Foreign Ministry to take the initiative to abolish nuclear weapons. At the U.S. Embassy, they protested against the U.S. plan to conduct more subcritical nuclear tests.

Hidankyo members also visited the Indian and Pakistani embassies demanding that their governments resolve the Kashmir dispute peacefully without using any nuclear weapons.

At the Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry, about 100 Hibakusha demanded that a state compensation bill be enacted for Hibakusha, including those who now live outside Japan.

In the Diet Building, Hidankyo representatives visited members of Japanese Communist, Democratic, Social Democratic, and Komei parties and asked them to firmly stand by Hidankyo. (end)