May 8, 2019

The 2019 nationwide antinuke Peace March started on May 6. Calling for a world without nuclear weapons, marchers will walk to the A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with their arrival scheduled for early August.

The peace march covers all 47 prefectures along eleven main routes, including the Hokkaido-Tokyo, Tokyo-Hiroshima, and Hiroshima-Nagasaki routes. On the day, marchers of the Tokyo-Hiroshima route and five other courses set off on their peace walks.

In Tokyo, the departure ceremony for the Peace March heading for Hiroshima took place in front of Daigo Fukuryu-Maru Exhibition Hall, which recently underwent renovation, with 700 people, including 28 Hibakusha, participating.

Taka Hiroshi of the World Conference against A and H Bombs Organizing Committee in his speech referred to the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference being held in the United Nations headquarters. He said that a U.S. peace organization has proposed to hold a world conference against nuclear weapons in the U.S. next year. Taka said, “Seeking the success of the proposed world conference in New York, let us appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons through this year’s peace march.”

Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations director Ieshima Masashi expressed his hope that the UN nuclear weapons ban treaty will take effect as early as possible and that Japan will sign and ratify the treaty.

A. G. Sano from the Philippines, the first marcher in the international youth relay march, in which young peace-activists from overseas will participate in the “Peace March” in relays, stated that if peace-loving people keep making efforts for a nuclear-free world, they will achieve it someday. He went on to say, “Yesterday, together with Japanese children, I painted pictures on a banner. I will hold the banner while marching.”

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Kira Yoshiko also took part in the march.

Past related articles:
> 60-year-old nationwide antinuke peace march begins [May 8, 2018]
> Nationwide peace march bound for Hiroshima/Nagasaki starts [May 7, 2017]