September 28, 2021

The Japan NGO for Nuclear Weapons Abolition held an online symposium on September 26, the UN International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and talked with A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha), antinuke youth activists, a UN official, and a Foreign Ministry official.

Tanaka Terumi of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), a co-leader of the Japan NGO for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, said, "Hibakusha have long appealed to the world that nuclear weapons are an 'absolute evil' and should not ever be used. Our longstanding call bore fruit in the form of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)."

Nemoto Kaoru, director of the UN Information Center, said, "The aim to eliminate nuclear weapons is stamped into the UN DNA."

Ikematsu Hidehiro, the Foreign Ministry official in charge of disarmament and nonproliferation, repeated yet again the Japanese government's usual explanations, "The U.S. nuclear deterrent is necessary," and "Japan acts as a bridge between nuclear haves and have-nots."

Tanaka in response counter-argued, "Unless Japan breaks away from its reliance on the supposed U.S. deterrent, it cannot serve as a 'bridge'."

Takagaki Keita in his first year as a student at Waseda University reported that his organization "Know Nukes Tokyo" had submitted to the Foreign Ministry a proposal calling on the Japanese government to participate in the TPNW.

Nojo Momoko of "No Youth No Japan" reacted, "The proposal is very encouraging for other youth groups. I'd like to promote dialogue with all generations to move toward a world without nuclear weapons."

Takahashi Yuta, a junior at Keio University, said that Japan should sign and ratify the TPNW as a first crucial step, adding, "Further discussions are necessary with the participation of more young people."