Dispatches from Nagasaki No.11
Nagasaki City sends letter of protest to U.S. government over nuclear-weapon capability tests; Nagasaki atomic bombing survivors stage sit-in at the Peace Park
(Nov.30, 2014)After hearing that the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) had conducted two tests for nuclear-weapons capability since September, Nagasaki Mayor Tomohisa Taue sent a letter of protest addressed to President Obama to the U.S. Embassy in Japan. According to news reports, Mayor Taue stated that “as representative of the citizens of Nagasaki citizens I strongly protest (these actions) and demand an end to all nuclear weapons tests, nuclear-weapon capability testing included.” He went on to say, “I firmly request that you exercise leadership in earnest attempts to reduce nuclear arsenals and bring about the realization of a world free of nuclear weapons at the earliest possible date” (Mainichi Shimbun, Nov. 5, 2014).
Nagasaki City sends a letter of protest each time the U.S. conducts a nuclear-weapon capability test. The tenth such test was carried out in October of 2013 and the recent test was the eleventh.
In response, approximately 250 Nagasaki atomic bombing survivors staged a sit-in at the Nagasaki Peace Park on November 9 in order to protest against the nuclear-weapon capability tests carried out by the U.S. in September and October. The sit-in came into effect after word was put out by groups such as the Nagasaki Citizens Association for Protesting U.S. Nuclear Testing and the Nagasaki Prefectural Peace Movement Center. All those in attendance observed a moment of silence at 11:02 a.m., the time when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Mr. Hirotami Yamada, president of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, was quoted as saying, “We cannot overlook these (nuclear weapons tests). We must raise our voices in Japan and express our heartfelt anger at America and a Japanese government that fails to offer any protestations.” A document of protest stating that “tests such as these lead to the development of new nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation” was adopted by the assembly and sent to the U.S. Embassy in Japan (Tokyo). In a separate letter of protest criticisms were aimed at U.S. President Obama, who was told to “act more in accordance with the advocacy of “a world free of nuclear weapons” that led to (his) receiving the Nobel Peace Prize” (Kyodo News, Jiji Press etc. Nov. 9, 2014; Nagasaki Shimbun, Nov. 11, 2014).
”Dispatches from Nagasaki” is a nuclear disarmament-related news article from RECNA.
