Japan’s PM says nuclear disarmament push ‘is struggling’
Tokyo, Aug 9 (EFE).- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday that the push for global nuclear disarmament “is struggling” and called on the tragedy experienced in the Japanese city of Nagasaki after the 1945 nuclear bomb attack to never be repeated.
“The push for nuclear disarmament is struggling, so Japan will work decisively for a world without nuclear weapons. No matter how difficult it is,” the prime minister said in a ceremony commemorating nuclear bombing victims on the attack’s 77th anniversary.
The event was held in front of the Peace Statue, near the hypocenter of the explosion, and began with chants, as well as flower and water offerings in memory of victims.
Kishida spoke of the importance of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which became effective in 1970 amid the Cold War, and bans the possession of nuclear weapons by countries that did not possess them prior to the signing. These are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, and Russia (then the Soviet Union).
“During the review conference of this treaty, I advocated its reinforcement. Even in the midst of a severe security situation, we must continue our history of non-use of nuclear weapons and continue to make Nagasaki the site of the last atomic bombing,” Kishida said.
Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue also used the event to express concern about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the danger it could trigger a new nuclear attack.
“This situation has shown the world that the use of nuclear weapons is not an unfounded fear, but a tangible and present crisis. It has made us face the reality that, as long as there are nuclear weapons, humanity is at risk,” Taue said.
The mayor also called on the Japanese government to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which became effective in 2021, and would force the country to abandon the nuclear protection provided by the United States.
This treaty contains prohibitions on the development, production, possession, use or threat of the use of nuclear weapons, as well as provisions for assistance to victims and environmental remedies. It seeks to send a clearer and more forceful message than the Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which Japan is part.
On Aug. 9, 1945, the first bomb nicknamed “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki and exploded at 11:02 from an altitude of 470 meters, with a detonation equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT, destroying more than 40 percent of the city. EFE
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