August 7, 2025
On August 6, marking 80 years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the 2025 World Conference against A and H Bombs Hiroshima Day Rally took place in Hiroshima City with 2,800 people, including overseas delegates, participating. The rally adopted the resolution, “A Call from Hiroshima”, appealing for “further action to pave the way for a ‘peaceful and just world without nuclear weapons.’”
Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko delivered a speech in solidarity. She criticized Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru for sticking to the “nuclear deterrence” doctrine and refusing to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). She stressed, “This year, marking 80 years since the U.S. atomic bombings, is high time for the Japanese government to act and change its stance,” and said, “It should end its reliance on the U.S. ‘nuclear umbrella’, join the TPNW, and, as the government of the only A-bombed country in the world, should play a part in helping to reach the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons.”
Along with Tamura, Nakamitsu Izumi, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Alexander Kmentt, Ambassador and Director of the Department of Disarmament, Arms-Control and Non-Proliferation Department of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, and Melba Pria, Mexican Ambassador to Japan, spoke as guests.
Representing A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha), Tanaka Soji of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) spoke. He criticized the Japanese government for running counter to global efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons, which is totally unforgivable. He noted that Hidankyo for the first time issued an appeal jointly with the Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) and the Japan Congress against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikin), and said, “Let us be angry together! Let us exercise our wisdom! And let us fight together!”
Overseas activists from the U.K., South Korea, and the U.S., along with Japanese activists appeared on the stage to talk about their activities and experiences.
The rally received a video message from former Science Council of Japan President Kajita Tadaaki.
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Earlier on the day, the Hiroshima City-hosted memorial ceremony was held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. City Mayor Matsui Kazumi, announcing his peace declaration, pointed out, “Nations now strengthening their military forces, some including nuclear arsenals, must engage constructively in talks aimed at abandoning reliance on nuclear weapons.” He urged the Japanese government to become a TPNW signatory.
A group of Japanese Communist Party parliamentarians, including EC Chair Tamura, attended the ceremony.
Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko delivered a speech in solidarity. She criticized Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru for sticking to the “nuclear deterrence” doctrine and refusing to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). She stressed, “This year, marking 80 years since the U.S. atomic bombings, is high time for the Japanese government to act and change its stance,” and said, “It should end its reliance on the U.S. ‘nuclear umbrella’, join the TPNW, and, as the government of the only A-bombed country in the world, should play a part in helping to reach the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons.”
Along with Tamura, Nakamitsu Izumi, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Alexander Kmentt, Ambassador and Director of the Department of Disarmament, Arms-Control and Non-Proliferation Department of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, and Melba Pria, Mexican Ambassador to Japan, spoke as guests.
Representing A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha), Tanaka Soji of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) spoke. He criticized the Japanese government for running counter to global efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons, which is totally unforgivable. He noted that Hidankyo for the first time issued an appeal jointly with the Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) and the Japan Congress against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikin), and said, “Let us be angry together! Let us exercise our wisdom! And let us fight together!”
Overseas activists from the U.K., South Korea, and the U.S., along with Japanese activists appeared on the stage to talk about their activities and experiences.
The rally received a video message from former Science Council of Japan President Kajita Tadaaki.
* * *
Earlier on the day, the Hiroshima City-hosted memorial ceremony was held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. City Mayor Matsui Kazumi, announcing his peace declaration, pointed out, “Nations now strengthening their military forces, some including nuclear arsenals, must engage constructively in talks aimed at abandoning reliance on nuclear weapons.” He urged the Japanese government to become a TPNW signatory.
A group of Japanese Communist Party parliamentarians, including EC Chair Tamura, attended the ceremony.
