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Visit to United States to attend 86th Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors
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Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, the President of Mayors for Peace, and Yasuyoshi Komizo, Secretary-General of Mayors for Peace (and Chairperson of this Foundation), attended the 86th Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) held in Boston City, State of Massachusetts, in June 2018.
With the aim of expanding municipal and civic-level activities for the achievement of perpetual world peace, at the conference they asked for understanding and support in Mayors for Peace activities, and called for cities to become members of Mayors for Peace.
They also gave lectures at a public school in Cambridge City, Massachusetts, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., communicating the reality of the atomic bombing and the earnest desire of the hibakusha, and sharing their thoughts about peace.
June 8
After attending the Annual Meeting of the USCM (first day), Mayor Matsui met with Franklin Cownie, mayor of Des Moines City, Iowa, a leader city in the US and Mayors for Peace Vice-President city; Kirk Caldwell, mayor of Honolulu City, Hawaii, which is one of Hiroshima City's sister cities and participating this time as the mayor of next year's host city; and others.
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This was followed by a lecture to around one hundred high school students studying world history at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, a public school in Cambridge.
In the lecture Mayor Matsui spoke about the reality of the atomic bombing and the desire of the hibakusha that
"no one else should ever suffer as we have."
He also expressed his hope that the young people who will lead the next generation go beyond differences of race, religion and language to have repeated dialogue focused on the future, and walk together on the path to achieving a world that is free of nuclear weapons.
In the Q&A session there were many questions.
In response, Mayor Matsui spoke about deepening mutual
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Lecture at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
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understanding through dialogue, the importance of respecting diversity, and the role of civic society, not only in properly selecting politicians who pursue global sustainable development, but also in working to create an environment that supports such politicians.
Later, at a dinner hosted by Rokuichiro Michii, the Japanese Consul-General in Boston, Mayor Matsui reported on the lecture given at the high school, and they discussed the differences in the education systems in the United States and Japan.
Mayor Matsui also asked for support in establishing the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Studies Course at many universities in Boston City.
June 9
At the opening of the second day of the Annual Meeting of the USCM, Marty Walsh, the mayor of the host city Boston, touched upon the fact that he himself is the son of immigrants, and said that in the current immigration policy in the United States, the role of mayors to interact with people of diverse backgrounds is becoming more and more important.
Stephen Benjamin, the mayor of Columbia City in South Carolina, and president of the USCM, said that he would like to improve the lives of all citizens, by alleviating air pollution, providing safe school environments and education, and restoring people's dignity through measures to tackle poverty.
Mayor Matsui explained the Mayors for Peace activities to the Mayor of Beverly Hills, California, and others who also attending the evening event, and requested that they become members.
June 10
On the third day of the Annual Meeting of the USCM, Mayor Matsui attended the standing committee on international affairs, where there was a discussion about submitting to the plenary session the resolution proposed by the Mayor of Des Moines to support the activities of Mayors for Peace for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
It was unanimously decided to submit the resolution to the plenary session, and it was adopted at the plenary session with joint proposals from twenty-six mayors, the largest number to date.
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Speech at the Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors
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At the plenary session, Mayor Matsui was introduced by the mayor of Honolulu, received a standing ovation as he went to the stage, and gave a speech in front of around 300 people.
In his speech, he made a request for support, saying
"the common mission of all mayors is to ensure the safety and peaceful lives of our citizens.
To achieve that, we are working together toward two key objectives:
'Realization of a world without nuclear weapons' and 'Realization of safe and resilient cities',
which, we believe, will lead us to our ultimate goal, lasting world peace.
We would like your cities in the United States to also join in the proactive activities by our member cities, led by the leader city Des Moines."
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After his speech, a number of mayors came to express their support.
President Matsui asked those mayors in attendance who have not joined Mayors for Peace to join, and received favorable responses.
June 11
Mayor Matsui travelled to Washington, D.C., where he gave a lecture in front of around 50 people, including peace NGOs, the mass media and university students, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that has led extensive outreach efforts in diverse fields such as nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
In his lecture, as the mayor of one of the cities
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hit by the atomic bomb, he communicated the earnest wish of the hibakusha for peace, and also stated:
"Considering current international tensions, we are faced with the situation in which nobody can predict how the US-North Korea Summit will affect Northeast Asia or how the uncertain future of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) will affect the Middle East.
What is most needed now is for world leaders to engage in earnest dialogue regardless of their political and ideological positions.
They should seek a cooperative security policy without reliance on nuclear deterrence as a better long-term solution, one that not only serves one country's own interest but all humanity."
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Lecture at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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After the lecture there was a panel discussion with Carnegie senior research fellow James L. Schoff, who has experience in international security and arms control at the US Department of Defense and State Department, and research fellow Jon Wolfsthal, as well as Mr. Komizo.
There were many questions and comments from the audience.
Following this was a meeting with Thomas Countryman, the chair of the Washington thinktank Arms Control Association, where they discussed the US-North Korea summit and Japan-US relations.
Mayor Matsui also met with US senator Ed Markey in the federal government building, and asked for support to shape public opinion in the United States for the prompt issue of Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the abolition of nuclear weapons, as well as support to expand the membership of Mayors for Peace.
At a dinner hosted by Kazutoshi Aikawa, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan to the US, Mayor Matsui made a request for support, saying that Mayors for Peace will continue to move forward sincerely and firmly as a non-partisan organization with the support of the people, working towards the abolishment of nuclear weapons, which threaten the safe and secure lives of citizens.
Looking back on the trip
During this visit to the United States, Mayor Matsui met with people from various different positions in this nuclear superpower, including many young people, mayors, researchers at thinktanks who have served in government in areas such as arms control, nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, and international security, peace NGOs, currently serving senators, and more.
In these meetings he was able to directly communicate the reality of the atomic bombing and the wishes of the hibakusha.
At the same time, Mayor Matsui explained the Mayors for Peace activities and asked people to work together with Mayors for Peace.
There is a growing feeling amongst the public, even in the United States, that nuclear disarmament is something that all nuclear weapon states should execute, and it will be important for civic society to work together to create an environment that supports policymakers.
To pursue that aim, we would like to maintain our ties with the people met during this trip, and expand the Mayors for Peace activities.
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| (Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division) |
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