Promotion of anti-war movement discussed in Bikini tragedy commemoration

About 120 peace activists, including international participants, held a discussion on ways to prevent a possible U.S. attack on Iraq on February 28 in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, as a part of the Bikini Day events.

The 2003 Bikini Day International Symposium was organized by the Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo).

Participants reported on various anti-war protests and demonstrations that have taken place throughout Japan. The discussion also focused on how young people, unions, and local municipalities are contributing to those peace actions.

Joseph Gerson of the American Friends Service Committee and Park Sunsong, Korean university professor and member of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, reported on the current peace movements in the U.S. and Korea.

In the other segment of the symposium dealing with the Bikini tragedy, Ritsumeikan University Professor Anzai Ikuro lectured on how the lesson of the Bikini tragedy should be applied today. Survivor of the tragedy Oishi Matashichi talked about his struggles after the incident.

On March 1, 1954, a Japanese tuna fishing boat, Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon #5), was exposed to the fallout of the U.S. hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. Japan's movement against A and H bombs was created following the Bikini tragedy. (end)