Japan Press Weekly

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2015 July 22 - 28 TOP3 [PEACE]

2015 anti-nuke 1,800-km relay marathon departs from Fukushima to Nagasaki

Participants in the 2015 Peace Marathon for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons have departed from Fukushima City to Nagasaki City. Along the 1,800-km route, runners will call for an increase in public support for a world without nuclear weapons.

On July 25, the first day of the peace marathon, around 20 people set off from in front of the Fukushima prefectural office building, holding a banner that read, “Abolish nuclear weapons” and “Sports with peace”. Passersby cheered on the runners who wore caps and T-shirts with messages that read, “Scrap war legislation”, “No nukes”, and “Peace for the earth”.

A male participant in his 30s who lives in Nagasaki City said, “We enjoy running in the peace marathon because of the warm responses from people in the streets. This is a small event, but we will work to help stop the runaway policies of the Abe government.” A 61-year-old man from Osaka City said, “I hope that we will all make it to our goal in Nagasaki.”

This running event is organized by the New Japan Sports Federation. Normally, the marathon starts from Tokyo, but this year, the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings, the participants left Fukushima for Hiroshima/Nagasaki, remembering that Fukushima experienced the 2011 nuclear disaster. The runners are scheduled to reach Hiroshima on August 5 and Nagasaki three days later.