 Over 1,000 local leaders sign 'Abolition Now! 'petition More than 1,000 heads of local governments and assemblies have signed the petition calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The collection of signatures in support of the appeal titled "Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now! Let there be no more Hiroshimas and no more Nagasakis" was launched by the 2003 World Conference against A and H Bombs in preparation for the 60th anniversary of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of the nearly 3,000 heads of municipality in Japan, 627 governors and mayors have signed the petition, including Akiba Tadatoshi, the mayor of Hiroshima, Ito Iccho, the mayor of Nagasaki, and Tanaka Yasuo, Nagano Prefectural governor (as of December 31, 2004). A total of 375 local assembly chairs, including chairs of the Nagano Prefectural Assembly and the Nagasaki City Assembly, have accepted the call. In Saitama Prefecture with 90 municipalities, the governor, 43 municipality heads, 26 local assembly chairs, and 22 board of education chairs have signed. Although most of them are conservatives, they favorably responded to repeated visits or letters by Gensuikyo members and participants in the annual Peace March to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Nagasaki City, the city office has set up in its entrance hall a table on which the petition with papers for folding cranes await visitors. More than 5,000 cranes have been folded with about 500 signatures. The "Abolition Now!" signature collection drive has spread to more than 50 countries. The Abolition 2000, an international anti-nuclear group with about 2,000 organizations in 90 countries, is also promoting the signature drive. (end) |