March 21, 2026

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) on March 19 issued a statement protesting firmly against the French government’s policy shift to increasing its number of nuclear warheads, and called for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

In the statement, Hidankyo noted that French President Emmanuel Marcron recently announced the policy under which, with the aim of enhancing its nuclear deterrence, France will advance cooperation with eight counties on the expansion of the French “nuclear umbrella” that protect its allies.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning A-bomb survivors’ organization criticized this policy for running counter not only to NPT state parties’ obligation to pursue nuclear disarmament in good faith but also to the “unequivocal undertaking by nuclear-weapon states to accomplish the total elimination of nuclear weapons” which was agreed upon at the 2000 NPT Review Conference.

Hidankyo pointed out that humanity cannot coexist with nuclear weapons, and called on France to retract its policy to increase its nuclear warhead arsenal.