October 18, 2018

The Japan P.E.N. Club on October 17 issued a statement calling for the realization of a world without nuclear weapons, following the adoption of a resolution for global denuclearization in the PEN International Congress last month.

The resolution was jointly proposed by the Japan P.E.N. Club, PEN International Writers for Peace Committee, and Slovenian P.E.N. Club, and adopted in the 84th PEN International Congress in India. The document calls on member writers to “use their own words to re-engage in developing a PEN culture of disarmament”.

Japan P.E.N.’s statement declared that in response to the earnest hope for the elimination of and legal ban on nuclear weapons by Hibakusha and people throughout the world, each of Japan P.E.N. members will sincerely use their writing and reporting skills to appeal to the world for the need to oppose any nations’ nuclear testing and to seek a nuclear weapons-free world.

The statement referred to the U.S. subcritical nuclear test in December 2017 and criticized the experiment for running counter to the world call for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Past related articles:
> Hibakusha protest against US subcritical nuclear test [October 11-14, 2018]
> Japan PEN: We’ll keep gov’t from violating our freedom of expression [April 9, 2017]