Japan Press Weekly

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2014 July 30 - August 12 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Hibakusha call on Abe to retract Cabinet decision on Japan’s use of collective self-defense right

Representatives of seven groups of atomic bomb survivors (Hibakusha) on August 6, the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, met with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in Hiroshima City and urged him to retract the Cabinet decision to lift the ban on Japan’s exercise of the right to collective self-defense.

The seven Hibakusha submitted to the prime minister a petition stating that Abe’s argument that the lives and safety of Japanese citizens cannot be protected under the current constitutional interpretation is inconsistent with historical facts and goes against the wishes of Hibakusha. Pointing out that Japan has been able to avoid fighting in wars after WWII thanks to the Constitution, the Hibakusha groups stressed that it is the Constitution that has protected Japanese people’s lives.

In the meeting, Yoshioka Yukio of a liaison council of Hibakusha groups in Hiroshima said that he has been telling people about his experience in the atomic bombing at the age of 16. He stressed that Article 9 of the pacifist Constitution is essential to prevent the recurrence of the tragedy of the actual use of nuclear weapons.

The prime minister in reply said, “I have no intention to turn Japan into a war-fighting nation.”

At a press conference held after the meeting, Yoshioka said that Abe’s response was superficial.