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The 74th Peace Memorial Ceremony since the Atomic Bombing
―In concert with the city of Nagasaki and kindred spirits around the world, we pledge to make every effort to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons and beyond that, a world of genuine, lasting peace―
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On August 6, for the 74th time since the atomic bombing, Hiroshima City held the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Approximately 50,000 people attended, including A-bomb survivors, the hibakusha and bereaved families, and they prayed for the repose of souls of victims of the A-bomb and for perpetual world peace.
The ceremony started at 8am.
First Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui and two representatives of the bereaved families dedicated three volumes of the Register of the Names of the Fallen Atomic Bomb Victims to the shrine in the Memorial Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims.
Over the past year, 5,068 people's deaths had been confirmed and their names were recorded in the Register.
This brings the total number of names recorded in the Register to 319,186 people, in 117 volumes.
This was followed by an address by Mr. Haruo Yamada, chairperson of Hiroshima City Council, and a dedication of flowers by various representatives.
At 8:15am, the time that the A-bomb was dropped, Ms. Akiko Mende, the representative of the bereaved families, and Aito Masakado, the children's representative, rang the Peace Bell, and all participants observed a minute of silent prayer.
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Mayor Matsui then read out the Peace Declaration.
In the Declaration, the Mayor said that due to recent global circumstances the movement to abolish nuclear weapons is now at a standstill.
He said that under such circumstances, there is a need to appeal in particular to the young people who have never known war but will be future leaders, to aim for the ideal world where there is no war, for the survival of humanity.
To this end, the Mayor spoke about the pleas and the experience of the hibakusha on August 6, 1945.
He stated that it is important for the young people, our future leaders, to see the atomic bombing and
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Mayor Matsui reading out the Peace Declaration
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war not simply as something that happened in the past.
They need to internalize the voices and efforts of the hibakusha and others aiming to create a peaceful world, and move steadily forward.
The Mayor also called for the world's leaders to visit the sites hit by the A-bomb, listen to the voices of the hibakusha, and visit the Peace Memorial Museum and Peace Memorial Hall so that they can come face to face with the individuals who lost their lives in the atomic bombing and their bereaved families.
He asked leaders to fulfill their obligation to negotiate on nuclear disarmament in good faith, as stipulated in Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and to respond to the wish of civil society for entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which would be a step on the way to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.
Mayor Matsui also made a strong request to the Japanese government, as the only government of a country to experience the nuclear weapon attack during war.
He asked the government to seriously address the wishes of the hibakusha, who are asking that they sign and ratify the TPNW.
He asked that they exercise their leadership to make further progress on realizing a world free of nuclear weapons.
He demanded that they expand the "black rain areas", and strengthen support policies for the hibakusha, whose average age is now over 82, and for the many other people who are suffering in various different ways in daily life, both physically and emotionally, as a result of radiation.
After the Peace Declaration, the Children's Representatives Syuka Kaneda and Tadahiro Ishibashi read out the Commitment to Peace.
They spoke of learning about the tragic past of their beloved city of Hiroshima, and stated that to build a future where there are no more wars,
"We shall be considerate of one another and openly share our feelings. We shall continue to learn of our own volition. With our hearts and the hearts of the hibakusha as one, we shall bring the ideals of peace to the world."
In the addresses that followed, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pointed out that recently security risks are increasing on a global scale, and that there is a growing disparity between the stances of the various nations regarding nuclear disarmament.
He stated that Japan will take the lead on initiatives involving the global community to achieve a world without nuclear weapons, by continuing to persistently promote dialogue, with the support of both nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states.
He also said that at the NPT Review Conference in 2020, which is a landmark as the 50th anniversary since the NPT came into effect, Japan will proactively lobby the nations of the world based on the recommendations and other conclusions of the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament, which was launched here in Hiroshima, so that the conference will bring fruitful results.
Prime Minister Abe also expressed his intention to move steadily ahead with activities to pass on the atomic bombing experiences of the hibakusha to the younger generations, and initiatives to ensure that visitors to Hiroshima and Nagasaki from around the world have opportunities to understand the tragic reality of the damage from the atomic bombing.
Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, read out a message from the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
In his message, he stated that sadly, the global security situation is deteriorating recently, and there is heightened tension amongst the nuclear weapon states, with some people starting to raise questions about nuclear disarmament and the arms control systems that have kept the world safe for decades.
He said that we must now recall the important message of the hibakusha that has been spread throughout the world, which is that the only definite guarantee that nuclear weapons will not be used is to completely abolish nuclear weapons.
He stated that there are now approximately 14,000 nuclear weapons that still exist in the world, and that many of them are in a state of alert where they could be fired at any moment.
He said that he will work together with the hibakusha and all other people and put all efforts into alleviating and ultimately removing that risk.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of bereaved families from 36 prefectures, as well as ambassadors and representatives from 89 countries and the European Union (EU), including the nuclear weapon states of the U.S., England, France and Russia.
The ceremony was streamed live online.
The video of the ceremony can be seen on the YouTube, ThecityofHiroshima channel.
The full text of the Peace Declaration and the Commitment to Peace that were read out at the ceremony can be found on the City of Hiroshima homepage>>.
The Peace Declaration is available in ten languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Japanese).
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| (General Affairs Division) |
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