nuclear-news

Hiroshima mayor pushes Japan to join nuke ban treaty on A-bomb anniv.  By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS   5 Aug 19 Hiroshima marked the 74th anniversary of its atomic bombing by the United States on Tuesday, with the city’s Mayor Kazumi Matsui putting pressure on the Japanese government to join a U.N. treaty banning nuclear weapons in his peace declaration speech.Attended by representatives from about 90 countries including the United States, the annual memorial ceremony took place at the Peace Memorial Park near Ground Zero

In the annual declaration, Matsui called on the central government to “accede” to the request from “hibakusha,” as atomic bomb survivors are known in Japan, that the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was passed in July 2017 with the support of 122 nations, be “signed and ratified.”

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave a speech at the ceremony but avoided any reference to the treaty. Japan has refused to participate in the treaty, along with other countries under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, as have the world’s nuclear-weapon states…….

This year, Matsui also demanded that the world leaders “respond to the yearning of civil society for entry into force” of the treaty, and Japanese leaders “manifest the pacifism of the Constitution” by showing leadership toward a nuclear-weapon-free world.

“Around the world today, we see self-centered nationalism in ascendance, tensions heightened by international exclusivity and rivalry, with nuclear disarmament at a standstill,” Matsui warned.

The power of individuals is weak, he said, but added there have been many examples of collective strength achieving desired goals…..

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue has said he will also urge the Japanese government to support the treaty at this year’s memorial ceremony to be held Friday in his city, as he has done in each of the past two years.

The combined number of surviving hibakusha from either bombing stood at 145,844 as of March, with their average age at 82.65……… https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/08/b1311d988a26-hiroshima-marks-74th-a-bomb-anniv-with-mayor-to-call-for-nuke-ban.html