Nagasaki Hibakusha Groups Condemn U.S.-Israeli Attacks on Iran

Nagasaki, March 13 (Jiji Press)–The four hibakusha organizations in Nagasaki Prefecture released a joint statement Friday condemning the ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. In the statement, the groups of survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, described the attacks against the Middle Eastern nation as “outrageous acts that cannot be justified for any reason” and demanded that the United States and Israel immediately stop all military operations. “We strongly urge a return to diplomacy and the rule of law, with the United Nations playing a central role,” the groups, including the Hibakusha Liaison Council of the Nagasaki Prefectural Peace Movement Center and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, said. The hibakusha also called for the Japanese government’s efforts for bringing about a ceasefire or resolving the conflict in cooperation with the international community. “We hibakusha fully know the tragedy of war and don’t want see victims being created one after another,” Tadako Kawazoe, the 82-year-old chair of the liaison council, told a press conference. The statement will be sent to the U.S., Israeli and Iranian embassies in Tokyo, as well as other relevant parties. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]