Nagasaki Mayor Calls Nukes “Absolute Evil” in Peace Declaration

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki in this year’s peace declaration on Sunday reiterated the atomic-bombed city’s call for the abolition of nuclear weapons, describing them as an absolute evil. The theory of nuclear deterrence, advocated mainly by nuclear weapons states, “is extremely dangerous and fragile,” Suzuki said, reading the declaration at a memorial ceremony on the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city. “Nuclear weapons are not a necessary evil but an absolute evil, and can never coexist with humanity.” The mayor urged world leaders to “act with urgency to restore multilateralism and the rule of law, in accordance with the values of the United Nations Charter,” adding, “Please return to the United Nations’ founding spirit of protecting human dignity and fundamental human rights, as well as achieving lasting peace and the shared prosperity of all humanity through international cooperation.” The ceremony, sponsored by the Nagasaki municipal government and held at the city’s peace park near the hypocenter of the Aug. 9, 1945, bombing in the closing days of World War II, was attended by representatives from 98 countries, including nuclear powers, and the European Union. Taiwan attended the annual ceremony for the second straight year. U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass did not attend the ceremony, and the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo participated instead. Participants observed a moment of silence at 11:02 a.m., the time when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki 81 years ago. To describe the horrific damage of nuclear weapons, Suzuki introduced remarks by the late hibakusha atomic bomb survivor Katsuji Yoshida, who was on the street about 850 meters from the hypocenter when the bomb exploded. Specifically, the mayor quoted Yoshida as saying, “Peace begins when we empathize with other people’s pain,” noting that this is what he used to say every time he shared with others his experience of surviving the atomic bombing. Suzuki added: “Empathizing with the perspective and suffering of others and trying to understand one another are a significant step toward avoiding confrontation and conflict. It serves as a foundation for fostering trust and building friendships, both between people and between countries.” “Let us take Mr. Yoshida’s words to heart and put them into action,” he said. Suzuki called on the Japanese government to attend a review conference of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, slated for November, and “fulfill its historical responsibility as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings in war.” On Aug. 6, 1945, three days before Nagasaki’s devastation, the western Japan city of Hiroshima was flattened by a U.S. atomic bomb. Suzuki also urged the government to “uphold the ethos of peace enshrined in the Japanese Constitution,” which shows a determination to forever renounce war, as well as the country’s three nonnuclear principles of not possessing nuclear weapons, not producing them and not allowing their entry into the country. Japan needs to strengthen diplomatic efforts for disarmament and the easing of tensions in the international community, he added. Suzuki strongly urged the government to provide relief “as soon as possible” to those who were exposed to radiation from the atomic bombs but have not been officially recognized as hibakusha because they were outside locations designated by the state as atomic-bombed areas. Chiyoko Motomura, an 87-year-old survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, read out a message of peace in which she cited her visit to the United States last year and said, “People can understand each other only through dialogue.” In her address, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed to work hard to realize a world without nuclear weapons and lasting peace. She said that her administration is “firmly maintaining” the three nonnuclear principles but refrained from commenting on a future direction regarding the principles. Takaichi also stopped short of mentioning the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. At the ceremony, three lists of the names of 2,773 people whose deaths were confirmed during the year through the end of last month were placed at a memorial monument at the park by bereaved relatives and others, bringing the total number of deaths from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki to 204,708. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]