Japan Press Weekly

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2015 November 4 - 10 [PEACE]

Pugwash Conferences: Let Nagasaki be the last atom bombed city

The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs on November 5, the last day of the five-day session of its 61st annual general meeting held in Nagasaki, published the Nagasaki Declaration which states, “Let Nagasaki be the last.”

The declaration urges world leaders to listen carefully to atomic bomb survivors (Hibakusha) calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons and demands that countries with nuclear arsenals abandon their programs to update nuclear weapons systems, stressing, “Most importantly, they must commit themselves not only to reduce but also to eliminate nuclear weapons.”

The declaration also calls on non-nuclear weapons states under other nations’ nuclear umbrella to support nuclear disarmament and thoroughly review their security policies. It points out that it is important not only for countries but also for citizens around the world and international organizations to cooperate in promoting initiatives for a legal ban on atomic weapons.

The declaration also mentions the 2011 meltdown accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and states that scientists’ social responsibility is “today more critically important than ever. ”

At a press conference held after the end of the session, organizing committee chair Suzuki Tatsujiro said that the participating scientists agreed on making Nagasaki the last city that suffered from an atomic bombing. One of the participants said that they will work with citizens to pressure their governments to have nuclear weapons abolished.