Nagasaki Remembrance

Hibakusha’s Wisdom and Warning

“Your possession of nuclear weapons, or attempts to possess such weapons, is nothing (worthy of boasting); … it is something shameful that risks making you perpetrators of crimes against humanity” — Mr. Hideo Tsuchiyama—

“Human beings and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist. The suffering we went through is more than enough. For people to truly live as human beings, we cannot allow a single nuclear weapon to remain on the face of the earth.”— Mr. Sumiteru Taniguchi— 

Hibakusha is the Japanese word for the surviving victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Literally translated it means “explosion-affected people.” Hibakusha is also “used to refer to people who were exposed to radiation from the bombings.”

In his speech today the mayor quoted the two recently deceased hibakusha who had for many years “led the anti-nuclear-weapons movement in Nagasaki.”

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue

(Minor edited excerpt from his speech)

N

ature and Gravity

August 9 seventy-three years ago at 11:02 a.m., a single atomic bomb explosion “reduced the city of Nagasaki to a horrific state. 

Humans, animals, plants, trees and all other forms of life were scorched to ashes. Countless corpses lay scattered all around the annihilated streets. The corpses of people who had exhausted themselves searching for water bobbed up and down in the rivers, drifting until they reached the estuaries. 150,000 people were killed or wounded and those who somehow managed to survive suffered severe mental and physical wounds. To this day they continue to be afflicted by the aftereffects of radiation exposure.

The United Nations in 1946 “made the elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction the first resolution of its General Assembly.”

“The Constitution of Japan … that same year set pacifism as one of its unwavering pillars.

“These were strong expressions of determination to see that the tragedy of the atomic bombings experienced by Hiroshima and Nagasaki, along with the war that brought them on, would never be repeated. The fulfillment of this resolve was then entrusted to the future.”

Atomic bombs are cruel weapons that mercilessly rob human beings of “the dignity to live in a humane manner.” Fully aware of this, nations of the world in the post-World War II era are holding an estimated “14,450 nuclear warheads.”

T

o all nations

I strongly request that you change to security policies that are not dependent on nuclear weapons before humanity once again commits a mistake that would create even more atomic bombing victims.

T

o peoples of the world

Please demand that the governments and parliaments in your countries sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in order to see that this treaty comes into effect at the earliest possible date.

T

o leaders of nuclear-armed and dependent nations

Please do not forget the resolve of the first United Nations General Assembly Resolution to work towards the elimination of nuclear weapons.

… please fulfill the pledge made to the world 50 years ago in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (or NPT) to pursue nuclear disarmament in good faith

T

oward a peaceful world little things matter 

Exchanges between people from different cultures and traditions can deepen our mutual understanding and then lead to peace.

Expressions of peace can be made through favorite music or sport

Ideas and actions of the young generation have the power to create new movements. “The campaign to collect ten thousand signatures in support of the abolition of nuclear weapons” was a project that began in Nagasaki, “with a proposal made by high school students.” People continue to fold paper cranes and send them to the atomic-bombed cities.

Opening the mind to teachings about the history and fearfulness of nuclear weapons by visiting atomic-bombed cities; listening “to accounts of the wartime experiences” of those in one’s own towns

Using the power of civil society to spread a culture of peace instead of war throughout the world.

 

Sources

The Asahi Shimbun “Nagasaki mayor calls for Japan to join U.N. nuclear weapons treaty” Ai Tanabe Staff Writer August 9, 2018

  

Taue's full address Nagasaki Peace Declaration (excerpt) http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201808090048.html

Japanese politician and mayor of Nagasaki Tomihisa Taue is a jurisprudence graduate from Kyushu University. He was elected mayor in a 2007 special election following the assassination of Iccho Itoh; and was re-elected in two successive elections. Tomihisa Taue is also known for opposing the reprehensible utterance of former Japanese defense minister Fumio Kyūma that “‘… it could not be helped that an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and that countless numbers of people suffered great tragedy.’”

Wikipedia bio notes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomihisa_Taue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumio_Ky%C5%ABma

Hibakusha is the Japanese word for the surviving victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Literally translated it means “explosion-affected people.” Hibakusha is also “used to refer to people who were exposed to radiation from the bombings.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibakusha

Insight Beyond Today’s News, CLB