May 7, 2016
Marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the largest organization of A-bomb survivors in Japan - Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), the 2016 nationwide peace march bound for the A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki left Yomenoshima Park in Tokyo on May 6.
As many as 700 marchers appealed to the people along the course, calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the revocation of the war legislation.
Prior to the departure, representatives of the antiwar group of university students SEALDs, Nihon Hidankyo, the preservation society of a Japanese fishing boat (Daigo Fukuryu Maru) showered with the radioactive fallout from a U.S. H-bomb test explosion in the Pacific in 1954, and the Buddhist sect Nipponzan Myohoji spoke in solidarity with the marchers and the Hibakusha.
Five demonstrators who will walk all the way through and who will take turns walking forward to Hiroshima expressed their determination to go the distance. They are due to arrive in August.
Nihon Hidankyo Secretary General Tanaka Terumi, 84, said that he wants to work to help collect a record number of signatures in a new international petition drive for the elimination of nuclear arsenals, and added, “An important national election will be held within the marching period. Let us further increase our movements and bring down the pro-nuke Abe government!”
Meanwhile in Hiroshima City, the new international signature campaign, which just started in April, took place in a shopping area. Participants asked shoppers and tourists to support the appeal of the Hibakusha calling on all state governments worldwide to conclude a treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons.
A 48-year-old woman who signed the petition said, “I believe the total abolition of nuclear weapons is what mankind should achieve regardless of political differences.”
Past related articles:
> 3-month Peace March leaves for Hiroshima/Nagasaki [May 8, 2015]
> 2014 nationwide anti-nuclear weapons peace march starts [May 8, 2014]
As many as 700 marchers appealed to the people along the course, calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the revocation of the war legislation.
Prior to the departure, representatives of the antiwar group of university students SEALDs, Nihon Hidankyo, the preservation society of a Japanese fishing boat (Daigo Fukuryu Maru) showered with the radioactive fallout from a U.S. H-bomb test explosion in the Pacific in 1954, and the Buddhist sect Nipponzan Myohoji spoke in solidarity with the marchers and the Hibakusha.
Five demonstrators who will walk all the way through and who will take turns walking forward to Hiroshima expressed their determination to go the distance. They are due to arrive in August.
Nihon Hidankyo Secretary General Tanaka Terumi, 84, said that he wants to work to help collect a record number of signatures in a new international petition drive for the elimination of nuclear arsenals, and added, “An important national election will be held within the marching period. Let us further increase our movements and bring down the pro-nuke Abe government!”
Meanwhile in Hiroshima City, the new international signature campaign, which just started in April, took place in a shopping area. Participants asked shoppers and tourists to support the appeal of the Hibakusha calling on all state governments worldwide to conclude a treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons.
A 48-year-old woman who signed the petition said, “I believe the total abolition of nuclear weapons is what mankind should achieve regardless of political differences.”
Past related articles:
> 3-month Peace March leaves for Hiroshima/Nagasaki [May 8, 2015]
> 2014 nationwide anti-nuclear weapons peace march starts [May 8, 2014]
