Hibakusha Urge Japan To Join Nuclear Ban Treaty


Hibakusha urge Japan to join nuclear ban treaty

Survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and peace groups are launching a signature campaign to urge the Japanese government to ratify a UN treaty banning nuclear weapons.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will enter into force in January after reaching the necessary 50 ratifications earlier this month. But Japan is among the countries that have not signed the treaty. Nuclear powers, including the United States, Russia and China, have not joined the pact.

Atomic bomb survivors and NGOs that advocate peace held a rally in Tokyo on Thursday and announced the launch of the petition drive.

Tanaka Terumi, co-chairperson of Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, called for an expansion of their campaign to make the government change its nuclear policy.

He said Japan, as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, should be at the forefront of the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.

Actor Takarada Akira sent a video message, saying Japan should ratify the treaty without hesitation as Japan was the first country to be attacked by atomic bombs.

Among those supporting the campaign are musician Sakamoto Ryuichi and writer Setouchi Jakucho.

Signatures will be collected nationwide, and an online petition is also being planned. A university student who took part in Thursday's rally said he wants the Japanese government to ratify the nuclear ban treaty.