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Trip to South America and Germany to Request Appointment as Mayors for Peace Leader Cities
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In February 2015, Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, Secretary-General of Mayors for Peace (and Chairperson of this Foundation), visited Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Germany, with the aim of asking Mayors for Peace member cities to take on the role of Leader Cities, support the activities, and request cooperation in discussions with NGOs and Mayors for Peace activities.
Mr. Komizo's main activities are described below.
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Main activities in Brazil
Mr. Komizo made a request to Santos City Mayor Mr. Paulo Alexandre Barbosa to take on the role of Mayors for Peace Leader City.
Mayor Barbosa expressed his great honor at having being selected as a candidate for such a role, nand accepted graciously.
Santos City is the city that Japanese people first arrived at in Brazil, on the ship Kasato-maru in 1908.
It is also a sister city of Nagasaki City, and as such is a city with deep cultural and historical connections between Japan and Brazil.
Mr. Komizo also made a request to Santos City's neighboring city, Sao Paulo, to support Mayors for Peace activities, and received a positive response.
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Mr. Komizo (left) has a discussion with Santos City Mayor
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During his visit Mr. Komizo also met with people from the Association of Hibakusha-Brazil for Peace and the peace NGO Ban All Nukes generation, explaining and providing information on initiatives by Mayors for Peace, and discussing future collaboration.
Main activities in Argentina
Mr. Komizo made a request that the capital, Buenos Aires City, takes on the role of Mayors for Peace Leader City.
He met with the Minister for Culture, Mr. Hernan Lombardi, who stated
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At a Japanese garden (Mr. Komizo is 4th from left, Mr. Aikawa is far left)
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that he would discuss the matter with the mayor with a view to accepting.
He also said that he would like to use the network that Buenos Aires has with other cities to ask those cities to provide their support for Mayors for Peace initiatives and activities.
During this trip Mr. Komizo also made requests to Mercedes City and Rosario City to cooperate in Mayors for Peace activities, and attended a peace event organized by Ms. Tomoko Aikawa, who is an Executive Adviser for this Foundation living in Argentina.
At the event the Peace Bell, donated by Hiroshima City, was sounded in a Japanese garden in Buenos Aires.
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Main activities in Uruguay
Mr. Komizo made a request to Ms. Ana Maria Olivera, the Mayor of Montevideo, Uruguay's capital city, to take on the role of Mayors for Peace Leader City.
Ms. Olivera said she would consider the proposition and then give a formal reply.
She also expressed her determination to become more proactively involved in peace activities as we reach the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing, and further develop the relationship and make efforts for Mayors for Peace.
At the meeting Mr. Komizo was granted the title of Honorary Citizen, and the meeting was also attended by the wife of the President of Uruguay, the Minister for Education and Culture, and the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, showing the high level of interest in Mayors for Peace.
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Mr. Komizo (left) gives the Leader City request document to the Mayor of Montevideo City
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Main Activities in Germany
Mr. Komizo visited Frankfurt, where he made a request to Mr. Stephan Siegler, the City Council Chairperson, to support Mayors for Peace activities.
He also met with people from IPPNW, who cooperate in Mayors for Peace activities, and explained and provided information on the Mayors for Peace initiatives, and discussed future collaboration.
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| (Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division) |
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