Japan Press Weekly

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2013 April 17 - 23 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

Japan Gensuikyo goes to Geneva with signatures for nuclear-free world

Members of Japan’s civil groups and trade unions on April 18 handed more than 2.76 million signatures seeking the total abolition of nuclear weapons to the representatives of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo).

The Japan Gensuikyo is to send its delegation to Geneva, where the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Review Conference of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is scheduled to open from April 22.

Takakusaki Hiroshi, the head of the delegation, said that UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane will receive the signatures on April 24. “These are signatures collected from all around the country through talks with individuals who wish for a world free of nuclear weapons. I promise to hand them to the UN and preparatory committee members without fail,” he said.

Okazaki Kanako, general secretary of the youth group of the Japan Federation of Prefectural and Municipal Workers’ Unions, also a member of the Gensuikyo delegation, said that she has a message to deliver from the mayor of Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture, for the chair of the preparatory committee. Okazaki is a worker of the city government. “I’m determined to work for the total ban of nuclear weapons on behalf of the city and local government workers across the country who demand peace,” she said.

In addition to petitioning participants from other nations, the mission will hold an atomic bomb exhibition at the University of Geneva as well as at the UN European headquarters office, the venue for the committee meeting.