Japan Press Weekly

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2015 August 5 - 11 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Nagasaki mayor & Hibakusha urge PM Abe to withdraw war bills

On August 9, the Peace Memorial Ceremony for victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki took place in Nagasaki City with 6,700 people participating, including Hibakusha (A-bomb survivors) and bereaved families. Hibakusha and the Nagasaki City mayor expressed their opposition to the Abe government-proposed war legislation.

In the ceremony, Mayor Taue Tomihisa read out the Nagasaki Peace Declaration. Noting that more and more people are concerned that the constitutional principle of peace is being shaken to its core, the mayor urged the ruling parties and the Diet to deliberate the war bills carefully.

Taniguchi Sumiteru, 86, gave a speech on behalf of A-bomb survivors. At the age of 16, he was exposed to radiation in Nagasaki and suffered severe burns. Referring to the war legislation enabling Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense, Taniguchi criticized the Abe administration for trying to get the country back to engaging in wars abroad despite the war-renouncing Japanese Constitution.

Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Ichida Tadayoshi and five JCP parliamentarians attended the ceremony.

On the same day, representatives of Hibakusha groups met with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, pushing him to retract the war bills which are under Diet discussion.

Ihara Toyoichi, one of the representatives, condemned the security-related measures as unconstitutional. A written demand jointly submitted by the groups stressed that the war legislation will not contribute to Japan’s peace and security but would inevitably increase the danger of war and terrorism.

Past related article:
> Anti-nuke international meeting opened in Hiroshima [August 3, 2015]