Japan Press Weekly

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2022 August 3 - 9 [PEACE]

Hiroshima Hibakusha criticize PM Kishida's speech at NPT Review Conference

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on August 1 delivered a speech at the NPT Review Conference in NYC, calling on nuclear-weapon states to "improve transparency in their nuclear capabilities" with China in mind. On the other hand, he made no reference to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which for the first time ever outlaws nuclear arms. He expressed his intent to continue promoting nuclear power generation under the guise of "peaceful uses of nuclear energy."

Sakuma Kunihiko who chairs the Hiroshima Federation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo) at a press conference in the UN Headquarters in NYC criticized PM Kishida for failing to even mention the TPNW and Article 6 of the NPT obliging its signatories to work toward nuclear disarmament.

Sakuma said, "PM Kishida seems oblivious to Hibakusha's concerns. We earnestly wish for a world without nuclear weapons while we are still alive." He pointed out that the role the government of the A-bombed country should play is to urge nuclear-weapon states to fulfill the NPT's Article 6 and other related agreements.

Setsuko Thurlow, a Hiroshima Hibakusha who now lives in Canada, said to the press at the UN Headquarters that as long as Japan is subordinated to the United States, a world free of nuclear weapons will not be achieved. She said, "I cannot see PM Kishida thinking about the concerns of Hibakusha." Regarding Russia's threat to use nuclear weapons in its war in Ukraine, she said, "Since the start of the invasion five months ago, many lives have been lost. Nuclear disarmament is becoming increasingly necessary."