Peace activists nationwide stage action calling for a world without nuclear weapons

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Peace activists nationwide stage action calling for a world without nuclear weapons

On May 9, peace activists across the nation, including in the atomic-bombed city of Nagasaki took part in the monthly 6^th- and 9^th-day of action calling for a world without nuclear weapons and standing in support of the signature campaign "For a Nuclear-Free World."

In Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, where the movement against A and H Bombs was launched 54 years ago, members of the Hachinohe Council against A and H Bombs took to the streets for the "6^th- and 9^th-day action."

They appealed to the public by saying, "When the tuna fishing boat Daigo Fukuryumaru (5th Lucky Dragon) incident occurred in 1954, the catch of tuna allegedly exposed to radioactive fallout from the U.S. H-bomb test explosion was unloaded and disposed of at the Hachinohe fishing port. World opinion calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons is growing, as reflected by U.S. President Obama's recent statement. However, the Japanese government, the only a-bombed nation's government, is clinging to depending on the U.S. 'nuclear umbrella'."

At the main shopping district of Kobe City in Hyogo Prefecture, people called on shoppers and tourists to support the international signature campaign "For a Nuclear-Free World" by displaying photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and handing out leaflets.

An old woman, a victim of the Osaka air raid in 1945, signed the petition by saying, "Wars are never acceptable. The Japanese government should flatly oppose wars and nuclear weapons, more than Mr. Obama." She offered to take home some copies of the petition to get more signatures.

- Akahata, May 10, 2009