Japan Press Weekly

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2008 July 30 - August 19 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

Nagasaki marks the 63rd anniversary of atomic bombing

On August 9, some 5,500 people remembered the victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in a ceremony held at the Nagasaki Peace Park to mark the 63rd anniversary of the tragedy. They reaffirmed their commitment to get nuclear weapons abolished in order to realize a peaceful world without wars.

The names of 3,058 Hibakusha (A-bomb survivors) who died in the past year were added to the books placed at the Peace Statue, bringing the total number to 145,984.

Nagasaki Mayor Taue Tomihisa in the Peace Declaration emphasized, “The reverberations of a written appeal entitled ‘Toward a Nuclear-Free World’ are being felt around the world.”

Referring to the appeal published by four former senior U.S. officials, including former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Taue called on all nuclear powers to take real steps toward nuclear disarmament and urged the government of Japan, the only country to experience nuclear devastation, to “take a leadership role in the elimination of nuclear weapons” and to seriously consider the enactment of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles into law and the creation of a “Northeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone.”

Taue also said, “The use of nuclear weapons and war also destroys the global environment. Unless nuclear weapons are abolished, there is no future for humankind. We ask that the people of the world, young people and NGOs to shout out a clear ‘No!’ to nuclear weapons.” - Akahata, August 10, 2008