nuke

Japan Gensuikyo calls for successful 2004 anti-nuclear world conference

The Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) says that the 2004 World Conference against A & H Bombs which will be held in August in Hiroshima and Nagasaki has the task of further increasing the international movement toward abolishing nuclear weapons and establishing international rules of peace.

Japan Gensuikyo held its Executive Board meeting on April 19 and 20 in Tokyo to discuss activities leading up to the 2004 World Conference.

The participants agreed on the need to increase the signature campaign "Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now!" with the view of making 2005, the 60th anniversary of the A-bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a turning point for the anti-nuclear movement.

Gensuikyo Secretary General Takakusaki Hiroshi stated that the current situation in Iraq shows that the U.S. pursuit of hegemonism is failing and international calls for peace are influencing world politics.

In the discussion, many speakers reported on various voluntary actions calling for the release of Japanese civilians held hostage in Iraq. They stressed that such activities have given many people opportunities to question and discuss the purpose of the Iraq war and the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq. (end)