“Nuclear weapons are nonsense. They guarantee no security – only death and destruction,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who participated in the prayer at Hiroshima Peace Park. “Three-quarters of a century later, we have to ask what we learned from the mushroom cloud that blew over this city in 1945,” he said.
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The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. He dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II and nearly half a century of Japanese aggression in Asia. Story continues below ad Fears of a third nuclear strike have grown amid Russian threats of nuclear attack since the war in Ukraine began in February. “Crises with serious nuclear undertones are spreading rapidly” in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula, Guterres said. “We are one mistake, one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from Armageddon.” Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, in his peace declaration, accused Putin of “using his own people as instruments of war and stealing the lives and livelihoods of innocent citizens in another country.” Russia’s war in Ukraine is helping build support for nuclear deterrence, Matsui said, urging the world not to repeat the mistakes that destroyed his city nearly eight decades ago. 3:07 ‘What were they thinking?’: Chernobyl residents react to the mess left behind by the Russians ‘What were they thinking?’: Chernobyl residents react to the mess left behind by the Russians – June 7, 2022 On Saturday, those in attendance, including government leaders and diplomats, observed a minute’s silence with the ringing of a peace bell at 8:15 a.m., the time a US B-29 dropped its bomb on the city. About 400 pigeons, considered symbols of peace, were released. Trending Stories
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Story continues below ad Guterres met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after the ceremony and sounded the alarm for a global retreat on nuclear disarmament, stressing the importance of Japan, the only nation in the world that has suffered nuclear attacks, taking a leading role in the effort, he said. the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kishida accompanied Guterres to the peace museum, where they each folded an origami crane – a symbol of peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. Russia and its ally Belarus were not invited to this year’s peace memorial. Russia’s ambassador to Japan, Mikhail Galuzin, laid flowers at a memorial plaque in the park on Thursday and told reporters that his country would never use nuclear weapons. The world continues to face threats from nuclear weapons, Kishida said at the memorial service. “I must raise my voice to appeal to people around the world that the tragedy of using nuclear weapons must never be repeated,” he said. “Japan will walk towards a world without nuclear weapons, no matter how narrow, steep or difficult that may be.”
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Kishida, who will host a Group of Seven summit next May in Hiroshima, said he hoped to share his commitment with other G7 leaders “before the peace memorial” to unite them to protect peace and international order based on the universal values of freedom and Democracy. Story continues below ad Matsui criticized nuclear-weapon states, including Russia, for failing to take action despite pledging to uphold their obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. “Instead of treating a world without nuclear weapons as a distant dream, they should take concrete steps towards its realization,” he said. Critics say Kishida’s call for a nuclear-free world rings hollow because Japan remains under the US nuclear umbrella and continues to boycott the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Kishida said the treaty, which lacks the US and other nuclear powers, is unrealistic at the moment and that Japan needs to bridge the gap between non-nuclear and nuclear powers. 3:00 Zelenskyy says world should prepare for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons Zelenskyy says world should prepare for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons – April 16, 2022 Many bombing survivors have permanent injuries and illnesses from the explosions and radiation exposure and face discrimination in Japan. Story continues below ad The government began providing medical support to certified survivors in 1968 after more than 20 years of effort by them. Since March, 118,935 survivors, whose average age is now over 84, have been certified as eligible for government medical support, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. But many others, including those who say they were victims of “black rain” that fell outside the originally designated areas, remain unsupported. Elderly survivors, known in Japan as hibakusha, continue to push for a nuclear ban and hope to convince younger generations to join the movement. Guterres had a message for the younger generation: “Finish the work that the hibakusha have started. Carry their message. In their name, in their honor, in their memory – we must act.” © 2022 The Canadian Press
