Gensuikyo prepares for 2003 anti-nuclear world meeting

The Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) held an executive board meeting on May 9 and 10 to discuss activities to bring the 2003 World Conference against A and H Bombs to a success.

This year's World Conference will be held as the world stands at a crossroads of "war or peace" and of "the possible use of nuclear weapons or the abolition of nuclear weapons".

Takakusagi Hiroshi, Gensuikyo secretary general, proposed that the "abolition of nuclear weapons, opposition to the use of nuclear weapons and wars, and the defense of rules for peace" be the global common tasks. To achieve this, he said, a joint struggle needs to be developed with the world's governments and peace organizations and in solidarity with all Hibakusha (victims of nuclear bombings and tests) throughout the world.

The secretary general called for cooperation to be developed with a wider range of people, including young people, who stood up against the Iraq War.

Gensuikyo executive board members responded to the proposal, saying that it is necessary to encourage young people, who have taken a lead in the anti-war movement, to be leaders of peace movements in the 21st century. (end)