antiatom

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Hibakusha make urgent call for nuclear weapons abolition and compensation

About 800 people, including atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Hibakusha), assembled in Tokyo on October 18 and adopted an appeal pledging to step up the movement to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons and state compensation for Hibakusha.

The rally was sponsored by the Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Sufferers' Organizations (Japan Hidankyo) to mark the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The appeal also made it clear that Hibakusha will continue to inform the public about the tragedy they experienced as surviving witnesses.

In a speech on behalf of Hidankyo, Chairperson Tsuboi Sunao said, "Peace is being endangered after the rupture of the NPT Review Conference. The task now is for the Japanese government to take a lead in the effort to abolish nuclear weapons. The concerted Hibakusha lawsuits calling for Hibakusha's illnesses to be recognized as caused by the atomic bombing are at a crucial stage. These lawsuits are essential to win state compensation."

Concerted lawsuits have been filed at 12 district courts throughout the country.

Plaintiffs and lawyers reported to the rally that the government is trying to make the damage from the A-bombs appear smaller than it really is.

Yokoyama Hiroshi, a plaintiff Hibakusha of Hiroshima said that he is the only survivor of his class at school and that he "must win the lawsuit for the sake of his dead classmates."

In a published speech, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo spoke about the historical role the Hibakusha movement has played for the last 60 years. He said, "The deep impact of the personal experience of Hibakusha has caught the hearts and minds of so many people in Japan and the rest of the world." He stressed, "We must make the government recognize the fact that even 60 years after the tragedy, Hibakusha are suffering from the effects of the bombs.

Shii stated that an overwhelming number of countries and peoples in the world are now calling for nuclear weapons to be eliminated within a definite time frame, and said, "Let us strengthen this force in order to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons early in the 21st century."

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The Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) on October 18 submitted to the Diet 2.9 million signatures from throughout the country calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. It also made representations to the Cabinet Office and foreign embassies, calling for political efforts toward eliminating nuclear weapons. -- Akahata , October 19, 2005