May 7, 2023

The Tokyo-Hiroshima course of this year's nationwide anti-nuclear weapons peace march on May 6 left Tokyo for Hiroshima. Several A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha) walked with about 450 marchers calling for the prohibition and abolition of nuclear weapons.

At a rally held at Tokyo's Yumenoshima Park prior to the start of the march, Taka Hiroshi of the Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) spoke on behalf of the march organizers, criticizing Prime Minister Kishida Fumio for using the empty words "I will send a message in support of the move toward a world without nuclear weapons" while maintaining Japan's dependence on the U.S. nuclear umbrella as nuclear deterrent. Taka said, "We should work more to press the Japanese government to join the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and urge the world's governments to work to establish a nuclear weapons-free world."

Hiroshima Hibakusha Ieshima Masashi gave a speech in solidarity, stressing that the abolition of nuclear weapons is the only way to relieve humans from feeling threatened by the potential use of such weapons in war.

Minato Takeshi, another Hiroshima Hibakusha, said, "The use of a single nuclear weapon in war will end with inhumane consequences," demanding that the Japanese government sign and ratify the TPNW.

Okuyama Shuhei of the "Daigo Fukuryu Maru" Peace Association quoted the deceased chief radio operator of the fishing boat Daigo Fukuryu Maru as saying, "Let me be the last A- and H-bomb victim." Okuyama called for relentless efforts to pass on to future generations the operator's last words.

Magiting Fabros and Nestle Collantes from the Philippines will participate in the international youth relay march. Fabros said that he wants to learn lessons from the past and expressed his determination to appeal for the importance of peace.