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Nagasaki to take shot at G-7 over its nuclear deterrence stance

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

July 9, 2023 

NAGASAKI–Nagasaki’s annual peace declaration this summer is expected to take issue with a nuclear disarmament document adopted at the Group of Seven summit held in Hiroshima in May for trying to maintain nuclear deterrence.

In doing so, it will reflect the critical voices of “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.

On July 8 the city presented a preliminary draft of the declaration to the third meeting of the drafting committee, which is comprised of 15 members, including scholars and hibakusha.

Mayor Shiro Suzuki will read the declaration during a ceremony on Aug. 9 to mark the 78th anniversary of the city’s 1945 atomic bombing.

The G-7 Leaders’ Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament states: “Our security policies are based on the understanding that nuclear weapons, for as long as they exist, should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war and coercion.”………………………………………

Shigemitsu Tanaka, 82, who heads the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, said at the second meeting of the drafting committee on June 17 that the Hiroshima Vision “justified” the argument for nuclear deterrence.

He called on city authorities to revise an earlier draft to echo the low regard hibakusha atomic bomb survivors have for the G-7 document………………………………….’Nagasaki city expects to compile a draft outline of the peace declaration by the end of July after gauging opinions about the preliminary draft.  https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14952502

July 10, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, opposition to nuclear