"Nagasaki must be the last." I was deeply moved by this phrase, which I learned when I attended the peace memorial ceremony in Nagasaki on Aug. 9 last year.
Even though there are still so many nuclear weapons on this planet, I believe most people on Earth would agree to this message from Nagasaki.
In my humble opinion, nuclear weapons are an "absolute evil" and their use must not be justified for whatever reason.
On the other hand, from a realistic point of view, I cannot but admit that "nuclear deterrence" has effectively worked to help the world retain peace, especially during the Cold War.
I hope more people, including those in leading positions, from around the world will visit the atomic bomb museums in Hiroshima and Nagasaki so that, from the bottom of heart, they can share the determination that "Nagasaki must be the last."
They should spend at least one hour in the museums to learn the miseries that one atomic bomb caused to ordinary and innocent people. While the Group of Seven foreign ministers spent 50 minutes at the Atomic Bomb Museum in Hiroshima in April, U.S. President Barack Obama was there for only 10 minutes in May.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.