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USA nuclear test comes as a shock to Hiroshima mayor

The subcritical nuclear test, which took place in Nevada on Sept. 15, according to the U.S. Energy Department, clearly came as a shock to the mayor, who has supported Obama and initiated an antinuclear campaign using the president’s name.

Hiroshima mayor hits U.S. subcritical nuke test, The Japan Times Online, Kyodo News, Oct. 14, 2010 The first U.S. subcritical atomic test under President Barack Obama, who has called for a world without nuclear arms, drew harsh fire from Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba.“I am outraged by your trampling on the expectations and hopes of the A-bomb survivors and the vast majority of Earth’s inhabitants, and, on behalf of the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, I vehemently protest,” Akiba said in his letter to Obama, which was made available to the press after the U.S. carried out what is considered a routine test to verify the reliability and safety, in storage, of its atomic arsenal. It was the first such test since August 2006

“A subcritical nuclear test leading to the development of new nuclear weapons runs counter to the spirit of the CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty), which you are working to ratify,” he said.

The subcritical nuclear test, which took place in Nevada on Sept. 15, according to the U.S. Energy Department, clearly came as a shock to the mayor, who has supported Obama and initiated an antinuclear campaign using the president’s name. Citing the first-ever participation by the U.S. ambassador to Japan in August’s annual memorial service for A-bomb victims, Akiba renewed his request for Obama to visit Hiroshima.

Hiroshima Gov. Hidehiko Yuzaki also sent a letter of protest, and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue and Gov. Hodo Nakamura plan to follow suit.

Hiroshima mayor hits U.S. subcritical nuke test | The Japan Times Online

October 14, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons