nuclear-news

Abe pledges to seek to eliminate nuclear weapons

HIROSHIMA —

Aug. 06, 2013

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/hiroshima-marks-68th-anniversary-of-atomic-bombing?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2013-08-06_AM

Japan on Tuesday marked the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima with a somber ceremony to honor the dead and pledges to seek to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Some 50,000 people stood for a minute of silence in Hiroshima’s peace park near the epicenter of the 8:15 a.m. blast on Aug. 6, 1945, that killed up to 140,000 people. The bombing of Nagasaki three days later killed tens of thousands more, prompting Japan’s surrender to the World War II Allies.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that as the sole country to face nuclear attack, Japan has the duty to seek to wipe out nuclear weapons.

The anniversary comes as Japan is torn over restarting nuclear power plants shut down since the massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 damaged reactors at a plant in Fukushima, causing meltdowns. More than 100,000 people remain displaced because of radioactivity near the plant. Abe favors restarting plants under new safety guidelines, while many Japanese oppose such restarts.

In a “peace declaration” speech, Hiroshima’s mayor, Kazumi Matsui, chided the government for its efforts to restart the nuclear plants and to export nuclear technology to other countries.

“This summer, eastern Japan is still suffering the aftermath of the great earthquake and the nuclear accident. The desperate struggle to recover hometowns continues. The people of Hiroshima know well the ordeal of recovery,” Matsui said.

“We urge the national government to rapidly develop and implement a responsible energy policy that places top priority on safety and the livelihoods of the people,” he said.

A recent agreement on discussing nuclear energy cooperation with India, he said, would likely hinder efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.

The Allied powers have long argued that the twin attacks brought a quick end to the war by speeding up Japan’s surrender, preventing millions more casualties from a land invasion planned for later in the year.

Many atomic bomb survivors, known as “hibakusha”, oppose both military and civil use of nuclear power, pointing to the tens of thousands who were killed instantly in the Hiroshima blast and the many more who later died from radiation sickness and cancers linked to the attack.

August 6, 2013 - Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized