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70 years since the Atomic Bombing
"2015 NPT Review Conference－Civic Initiatives and Future Prospects"
(Article contributed October 2015)
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by Koki Takada
Executive Director,
Hiroshima Prefecture Consumers' Co-operative Union
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Following on from the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), I participated in the 2015 NPT Review Conference as the Deputy Delegation Head of the 91-member Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union (JCCU) delegation, together with the 49-members of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations.
Our delegation provided support to the hibakusha in their on-site activities there, and at the same time we were also involved in initiatives to spread the reality of the damage of the atomic bombing, as well as making requests to major national governments.
We submitted a petition calling for the start of discussions on a nuclear weapons convention to the United Nations, for which we had gathered signatures from people all over Japan.
After returning to Japan I summarized what we had observed and felt at the conference in a report, aiming to be of some use in the formation of a public consensus at the grass roots level.
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Peace March
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On April 26, 2015, after participating in the NGO joint action and demonstration at Dag Hammarskjöld square in front of United Nations headquarters, the signatures that had been collected by Mayors for Peace and the Japan Council Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs were handed over to Ms. Taous Feroukhi, President of the 2015 NPT Review Conference.
We in the JCCU support the initiatives of Mayors for Peace, advocated by the City of Hiroshima, and have been involved in shaping opinion at the civic level.
When the signatures (of the 1,097,059 signatures, around 890,000 were collected by JCCU) were handed to Ms. Feroukhi by Hiroshima Mayor Mr. Matsui, I thought "this is truly the moment where civic activities have reached the United Nations."
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Hiroshima Mayor submits a petition to the UN
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At the NPT Review Conference this time, it was the first time that we collaborated with Mayors for Peace leading up to the New York visit.
From 2014 we held a number of meetings with the City of Hiroshima and Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, and as a result were able to officially participate as the JCCU delegation in the Hiroshima Nagasaki Appeal Gathering in New York organized by Mayors for Peace.
On April 27, ten representatives from JCCU attended the Gathering, which Japanese Foreign Minister Mr. Kishida also attended, and made a speech.
Since the end of the WWII we have consistently worked on civic peace activities as one of our main activities, but this was the first time that we had made a speech at an event related to the NPT Review Conference.
At this gathering, three appeals were adopted as statements.
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The policymakers of the world, especially nuclear states, must visit atomic cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. |
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In further negotiations regarding nuclear disarmament, they must heed and deepen their understanding of the inhumane consequences of nuclear weapons. |
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As stated in Article VI of the NPT, all States Parties must reconfirm the fact that they are concerned parties regarding nuclear weapons abolition, and begin negotiations in good faith towards the conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention. |
Hiroshima Prefecture Consumers' Co-operative Union agreed with them too.
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A-bomb testimony at the "Nuclear-Free World: Cries from Hiroshima and Nagasaki" exhibition in the UN
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Lobbying Campaign
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As you are aware, the Review Conference this time broke up in disagreement, with continued opposition between the nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states.
However, the groundswell of opinion regarding the inhumanity of nuclear weapons is changing greatly, and the activities of hibakusha are spreading, reflected in the voices of the people of the world.
Based on the issues faced by all nations, we lobbied representatives of the United Nations, the nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states.
Representatives of all nations interacted with integrity.
Nonetheless I keenly felt that at this point in time, the "inhumanity of nuclear weapons" has not yet become a global value for the coexistence of humankind.
After returning to Japan, the event "For a Peaceful World Free of War and Nuclear weapons－A Gathering of Citizens" was held on June 5, 2015 in Hiroshima City, organized by the Executive Committee made up of six civic organizations.
This year marked the 5th time that this gathering has been held, and participation was a record 224 people, including Hiroshima Governor Mr. Yuzaki, Hiroshima Mayor Mr. Matsui, local administrative chief and public officials of 8 cities and 7 towns in Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, voluntary organizations, union members and executives from Consumers' Co-operative Unions from around Japan, and more.
Through this gathering, I felt once again that now is the time that the world's leaders must face the reality of the damage from the atomic bombing and fulfill their duties as leaders, and that it is important that we the citizens work together to promote peace activities as "one Hiroshima" and "one Japan", crossing differences in thought and beliefs, to have a major impact on nuclear weapon states and their allies.
Throughout the world there are new conflicts and with them a higher risk that nuclear weapons will be used.
When we look back on history, the approach of deterrence is not one that has lasted long.
On the contrary, with the increasing possibility of an upset of the world's power balance, which was centered on the West, there are growing fears that nations that possess nuclear weapons will provoke mutually assured destruction (MAD), leading to a crisis threatening the existence of humankind.
We also need to manage the risk of nuclear matter itself.
In order to ensure that nuclear weapons are not used again, we must demand the immediate abolition of nuclear weapons, which are inhumane weapons of mass destruction.
What we must do is to carry on the wishes of hibakusha, communicate them, and build a network that many citizens can join that aims for a peaceful world without war and nuclear weapons.
Through such a network, we must communicate peace to the world.
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Profile
[Koki Takada]
Started working at Hiroshima Consumers' Co-operative Union in 1980.
Worked in various positions including Joint Purchasing Business Manager, Corporate Planning Office Manager, Welfare Business Manager and others.
Dispatched to the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union as Welfare Business Promotion Manager from 2006.
After working as Director of Hiroshima Consumer's Co-operative Union, assumed current position in 2013.
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