Nagasaki and Hiroshima Mayors urge U.S. to abolish all nuclear weapons by Reuters / The Asahi Shimbun 9:33am 6th Aug, 2004   August 10,2004    "Nagasaki urges U.S. to abolish all nuclear weapons ", The Asahi Shimbun (Japan).    NAGASAKI-Marking the 59th anniversary of the city's atomic bombing, Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh on Monday urged Americans to act decisively to abolish nuclear weapons, which he said is the only way to ensure ``the eventual survival of the human race.'' In his peace declaration, Itoh joined an appeal made three days ago by Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba that the United States stop its attempts to develop small nuclear arms.    Concerned about the continued U.S. reliance on nuclear weapons, he renewed Nagasaki's pledge to ``continue to share our experiences of the atomic bombing, and we will work to make Nagasaki a center for peace studies and peace promotion.''    The ceremony at Nagasaki's peace park was attended by about 5,400 people from Japan and abroad, including atomic bomb survivors and bereaved families. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and health minister Chikara Sakaguchi were also present.    The names of 2,707 bomb victims whose deaths were confirmed in the past year were added to the roster at the park's peace statue, bringing the total to 134,592. At 11:02 a.m., the moment when the bomb exploded 500 meters above Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, killing about 74,000 people and wounding 75,000 more, bells rang and those present offered silent prayers.    In his declaration, the mayor criticized Washington for possessing up to 10,000 nuclear weapons and continuing subcritical nuclear tests. He warned that ``in terms of radioactivity that (small nuclear) weapons would release, there would be no difference compared to the bomb dropped on Nagasaki.''    Itoh called on the ``people of America,'' saying, ``The path leading to the eventual survival of the human race unequivocally requires the elimination of nuclear arms. The time has come to join hands and embark upon this path.'' The mayor urged the Japanese government to enact into law three nonnuclear principles: of not possessing, producing or allowing nuclear weapons to be brought into this country. Itoh also praised peace efforts by young people.    `(Taking) action close to home will foster the realization of world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons,'' he said. Representing hibakusha atomic bomb survivors, 75-year-old Masatoshi Tsunenari also vowed to relate his experiences to younger generations. `Nuclear arms and human beings can never coexist,'' he said. ``I will continue to work for peace so Nagasaki will remain the last city to suffer atomic bombing.''    In his speech, the prime minister vowed to abide by the pacifist Constitution and maintain the three nonnuclear principles. `I will make all-out efforts for the abolition of nuclear weapons by stepping up calls on other countries to swiftly ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and by working for nuclear arms reduction and nonproliferation,'' Koizumi said.    August 6, 2004.    On 59th anniversary of the world's first atomic attack Hiroshima Mayor critical of "egocentric" US. (Reuters)    The Mayor of Hiroshima has used the 59th anniversary of the world's first atomic attack to rebuke Washington for wanting to develop small nuclear weapons that he fears will be easier to use.    Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba made the remarks at a ceremony attended by about 40,000 people, including Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and survivors and relatives of victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.    "The egocentric world view of the US Government is reaching extremes," Mr Akiba told the annual memorial ceremony at the city's Peace Park, near where the bomb was dropped. "Ignoring the United Nations and its foundation of international law, the US has resumed research to make nuclear weapons smaller and more 'usable'."    The Peace Bell was tolled at 8:15am, the moment a US warplane dropped the bomb on August 6, 1945 and destroyed the city. A minute of silence followed. "The morning of August 6, 59 years ago, was just another summer morning but a single atomic bomb changed it into a morning that humankind will never forget," 11-year-old Koya Yurino told the ceremony.    Paper cranes symbolising peace were draped around the park and incense burned on prayer altars as Mr Akiba placed three books containing the names of the bomb's victims under the park's arched cenotaph.    The names of 5,142 people who died recently were added to the list of victims, bringing the total number recognised by the city to 237,062. A few thousand names are added each year. The bomb had killed some 140,000 people by the end of 1945, out of Hiroshima's estimated population of 350,000. Thousands more succumbed to illness and injuries later.    The south-western Japanese city of Nagasaki was bombed three days after Hiroshima, leading to Japan's surrender and the end of World War Two.    Japan, where people are raised on stories of the suffering in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has been staunchly pacifist and anti-nuclear since its defeat, and its post-war Constitution renounces the right to go to war.    But with the average age of Hiroshima's survivors now well over 70, there are signs that support for the country to assume a greater global military role is growing. Even talk of becoming a nuclear power is no longer taboo.    However, Mr Koizumi has repeated a pledge that Japan - the only nation to suffer an atomic attack - would work for nuclear disarmament. "We will maintain the pacifist constitution under our strong resolve to never again repeat the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," he said at the ceremony.    Under Mr Koizumi, Japan has sent 550 soldiers to Iraq in its largest post-war dispatch of troops. Mr Koizumi's ruling party and the largest opposition party are both working on drafts to revise the Constitution, whose Article Nine renounces war as a means of settling international disputes. Visit the related web page
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