- Full text of
Nagasaki Peace Declaration on 72nd A-bomb anniversary
August 9, 2017 (Mainichi Japan)
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170809/p2g/00m/0dm/048000c#cxrecs_s
Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue reads the
city's Peace Declaration in a ceremony to mark the 72nd anniversary of the
atomic bombing of the city at Nagasaki Peace Park on Aug. 9, 2017. (Mainichi)
NAGASAKI
(Kyodo) -- The following is the full text of the Peace Declaration issued
Wednesday by Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue at a ceremony to mark the 72nd
anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
"No more
hibakusha"
These words
express the heartfelt wish of the hibakusha that in the future nobody in the
world ever again has to experience the disastrous damage caused by nuclear
weapons. This summer, the wish has moved many nations across the globe and
resulted in the creation of a certain treaty.
The Treaty on
the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which of course prohibits the use of
nuclear weapons, and furthermore their possession or deployment, was adopted
this July by 122 nations, a figure representing more than 60 percent of the
United Nations' member states. This was a moment when all the efforts of the
hibakusha over the years finally took shape.
I would like
to call this treaty, which mentions the suffering and struggles of the
hibakusha, "The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Treaty." I would also like to
express our profoundest gratitude to all of the nations that promote this
treaty, the United Nations, NGOs and others who have acted with such vigorous
determination and courage to rid the world of weapons that go against the
spirit of humanity.
However, this
is not our final goal. There are still around 15,000 nuclear weapons in the
world. The international situation surrounding nuclear weapons is becoming
increasingly tense. A strong sense of anxiety is spreading across the globe
that in the not too distant future these weapons could actually be used again.
Moreover, the nuclear-armed states are opposed to this treaty and there is no
end in sight to the road towards "a world free of nuclear weapons,"
the realization of which is our objective. The human race is now faced with the
question of how this long awaited treaty can be utilized to make further
progress.
I hereby make
the following appeal to the nuclear-armed states and the nations under their
nuclear umbrella. The nuclear threat will not end as long as nations continue
to claim that nuclear weapons are essential for their national security. Please
reconsider your policies of seeking to protect your nations through nuclear
weapons. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) obligates all its member
states to achieve nuclear disarmament. Please fulfill this obligation. The
whole world awaits your courageous decisions.
To the
Japanese government I have this appeal to make. Despite the fact that the
Japanese government has clearly stated that it will exercise leadership in
aiming for a world free of nuclear weapons, and play a role as a bridge between
the nuclear-armed states and the non-nuclear-armed states, its stance of not
even participating in the diplomatic negotiations for the Nuclear Prohibition
Treaty is quite incomprehensive to those of us living in the cities that
suffered atomic bombings. As the only country in the world to have suffered
wartime atomic bombings, I urge the Japanese government to reconsider the
policy of relying on the nuclear umbrella and join the Nuclear Prohibition
Treaty at the earliest possible opportunity. International society is awaiting
the participation of Japan.
Furthermore,
I ask the Japanese government to affirm to the world its commitment to the
pacifist ethos of the Constitution of Japan, which firmly renounces war, and
its strict observance of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. As a specific policy
representing a step forward towards a world free of nuclear weapons, it should
act now by examining the concept of a "Northeast Asia Nuclear-Weapons-Free
Zone."
This, we will
certainly never forget: the fact that at 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945, an
atomic bomb exploded in the air right above the hill where we are now
assembled, killing and injuring 150,000 people. On that day, furious blast and
heat rays reduced the city of Nagasaki to a charred expanse of land. People whose
skin hung down in strips staggered around the ruined city looking for their
families. A dumbfounded mother stood beside her child who had been burnt black.
Every corner of the city was like a landscape from hell. Unable to obtain
adequate medical treatment many of these people fell dead, one by one. Even
now, 72 years after that day, the damage resulting from radiation exposure
continues to ravage the bodies of the surviving hibakusha. Not only did the
atomic bomb indiscriminately steal the lives of beloved family members and
friends who had always been at each other's side, it then went on to hideously
devastate the subsequent lives of those who survived.
Leaders of
all the nations of the world: please come and visit the atomic-bombed cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I want you to see what happened down here on the ground
beneath the mushroom cloud, not from a perspective high above it; I want you
all to see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, and feel with your own
hearts just how cruelly the atomic bomb trampled on the dignity of human
beings. I want you to imagine how you would feel if your own family had been in
Nagasaki on that day.
When people
have experienced something painful and distressing they tend to lock up that
memory in their hearts and are reluctant to talk about it. This is because
talking about it entails being reminded of it. The fact that the hibakusha have
continued to talk about their experiences while enduring physical and mental
scars represents an act by individual members of humankind to protect our
future by determining, to make the upmost efforts to spread their message.
I make this
call to all the people of the world. The most frightening things are
disinterest and the process of forgetting. Let us all pass on the baton of
peace that we have received from the hibakusha and those who have experienced
war, so it is seamlessly carried on into the future.
The 9th
General Conference of Mayors for Peace is currently being held here in
Nagasaki. Many representatives of towns and cities that have painful memories
of war and civil strife participate in this network of 7,400 municipalities. In
solidarity with our friends in Mayors for Peace, we will send out from Nagasaki
to the world the message that with united efforts and unwavering commitment,
even calls of peace from small cities can provide a strong impetus for global
progress, just as the hibakusha have shown us.
"Nagasaki
must be the last place to suffer an atomic bombing." These are the words
hibakusha have continuously repeated until their voices have become hoarse. We
will prove that their words are a common wish and ambition of all mankind.
The average
age of the hibakusha now exceeds 81 years. The "era in which the hibakusha
are still with us" is drawing to an end. I strongly request that the
Japanese government improves the assistances given to hibakusha, and provides
relief to all those who experienced the atomic bombing.
Six years
have elapsed since the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident. As a city that
has experienced the threat of radiation, we stand with the victims in Fukushima
Prefecture and offer them our support.
I hereby pay
tribute to the memory of all those who lost their lives to the atomic bombing,
and declare that we, the citizens of Nagasaki City, will join hands with all
the people around the world who pray for a world free of nuclear weapons, and
continue to tirelessly work towards the realization of the abolition of nuclear
weapons and everlasting world peace.
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