A-bomb cities protest against U.S. subcritical nuclear test

About 80 people, including A-bomb survivors, staged a sit-in on June 8 in front of the cenotaph for the A-bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in protest against the U.S. subcritical nuclear test.

Participants offered a moment of silence for the 221,893 victims in front of the cenotaph. Omori Masanobu, a member of the Hiroshima Council against A & H Bombs, stated, "The U.S. government is defying the citizens of the world who hope for nuclear disarmament."

On the same day, the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture and the mayor of Hiroshima City sent the U.S. President George W. Bush a letter in protest against the U.S. subcritical nuclear test. In his letter, Mayor Akiba Tadatoshi strongly demanded that the U.S. president earnestly address the issue of world peace.

The Nagasaki Prefectural Governor Kaneko Genjiro and Nagasaki City Mayor Ito Iccho also sent protest statements to the U.S. ambassador to Japan. (end)