Japan Press Weekly

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2020 August 26 - September 1 [PEACE]

980K Vietnamese sign Hibakusha petition calling for elimination of nuclear weapons

The Hibakusha-led international signature-collection campaign calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons in Vietnam collected 980,000 signatures in the last ten months with the campaign deadline approaching in September. This has been made public by the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo).

Vietnam began conducting the Hibakusha-led international signature-collection drive in November 2019 in preparation for commemorating the year 2020 which marks the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A main driving force behind the campaign is the Vietnam Peace Committee (VPC) and the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA).

These two organizations worked very hard to promote the campaign after making an agreement with delegates of Japan Gensuikyo and the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) who visited Vietnam last November. The two sides agreed to cooperate in their assistance to and solidarity with victims of the U.S. use of atomic bombs and Agent Orange and in efforts to abolish weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.

Since November 2019, the VAVA has urged all its local organizations to join the Hibakusha-led signature-collection campaign and collected more than 376,000 signatures. The VPC has promoted the campaign as a component of peace education because it is concerned about an increase in the number of young people who do not know about the consequences of Agent Orange used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. The VPC collected signatures at various events such as testimonies given by Hibakusha and Agent Orange victims at universities.

VPC Secretary General Dong Huy Cuong in his report to Japan Gensuikyo said, “Efforts to promote the Hibakusha-led signature-collection drive in Vietnam have contributed to increasing public awareness of threats posed by nuclear arms, chemical arms, and other weapons of mass destruction as well as of the need to eliminate these weapons.”

Gensuikyo Vice Secretary General Tsuchida Yayoi expressed appreciation for the 980,000 signatures collected in Vietnam, and said, “Japan and Vietnam experienced inhumane attacks by the U.S. military, respectively. The 980,000 signatures collected are the first step for the people of the two nations toward working together to abolish weapons of mass destruction.”

Past related article:
> Nearly 12 million signatures collected in support of Hibakusha’s appeal for elimination of nuclear weapons [ June 25, 2020]