A representative of hibakusha atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo on Wednesday called for the elimination of nuclear weapons at the ongoing preparatory meeting for the 2026 Review Conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in New York.
"Our urgent wish is to achieve the elimination of nuclear weapons in our lifetime," said Hiroshi Kanamoto, 80, of Nihon Hidankyo, officially called the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations.
Kanamoto experienced the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, with his sister when he was 9 months old at a point 2.5 kilometers from the center of the explosion. He has been told that he was buried in rubble and covered in his own blood, and that his father came to rescue him.
The bombing "instantly transformed Hiroshima into a city of death," he said.
Under the NPT, the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China are obliged to hold negotiations for nuclear disarmament. But the previous two NPT review conferences ended in failure.
"Will the NPT, which entered into force half a century ago in 1970, continue discussions indefinitely without any progress?" he questioned. "As the only country to have experienced the atomic bombings in war, we call upon Japan to lead the world toward the abolition of nuclear weapons."
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui and Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki also spoke at the preparatory meeting.
"There is a growing trend among nuclear weapon states and even some nonnuclear weapon states to advocate for the possession of nuclear weapons or participation in nuclear sharing as an effective means of national defense," Matsui said. "But that goes against the principle of the NPT."
Suzuki said, "Nagasaki must remain the last war-time atomic bombing site."
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