Genjiro Kaneko
Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture
On the occasion of the 3rd Nagasaki Global
Citizens' Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons,
I would like to express on behalf of the citizens of Nagasaki
Prefecture my delight that this meeting has become so successful
and also offer a warm welcome to the participants from Japan
and overseas, including the Honorable Phil Goff, minister
for disarmament and arms control of New Zealand.
Sixty-one years ago, on August 9, the single
atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki destroyed many
precious lives and the beautiful cityscape of Nagasaki in
an instant and left behind harmful radiation, a fear of
surviving victims that was hard to dispel, and a deep sadness.
After that, thanks to the earnest efforts
of the prefectural citizens, the city of Nagasaki was able
to recover its beauty and energy. But even today, after
more than half a century, many surviving victims of the
atomic bombing are still suffering health problems.
We have resolved that transmitting the terrible
conditions brought about by the use of nuclear weapons to
the whole world and to future generations is an important
duty for the citizens of Nagasaki Prefecture who have experienced
atomic bombing, and until now we have made the appeal on
many occasions of "Don't repeat the devastation that
happened to Nagasaki. Let Nagasaki be the last place to
suffer an atomic bombing."
Nagasaki Prefecture has designated August
9 every year as a day of prayer. On that day, we pray for
the souls of the atomic bomb victims, and, as a day when
prefectural citizens renew their determination to strive
for the elimination of nuclear weapons, engage in various
related efforts. In schools and elsewhere, for example,
classes to think about peace are held in order to pass on
the spirit of Nagasaki and its desire for peace to the young
people who will lead the next generation.
In addition, earnest efforts toward the
building of peace are being made around the world by NGOs
and others, and the call for the elimination of nuclear
weapons is steadily spreading step by step. At the 2000
Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons, for example, a final document was adopted
that included a clause on "Reaffirmation, by the nuclear-weapon
states, of their unequivocal commitment to the ultimate
elimination of nuclear weapons."
Since then, however, subcritical tests
have been repeatedly conducted by nuclear-weapon states,
and no specific ways have been found toward the elimination
of nuclear weapons. Last year's NPT Review Conference, for
example, closed without any major progress because of a
conflict of opinions between nuclear-weapon states and nonnuclear-weapon
states.
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