From March 5-14, 2019, Mayors for Peace Secretary-General Yasuyoshi Komizo (Chairperson of this Foundation) visited the United States, where he met with the mayors of member cities in California and people involved in nuclear disarmament NGOs. He also attended an international conference on nuclear policy hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace held in Washington D.C.

Visit to California

Mr. Komizo visited the state of California, where he met with the mayors of member cities Oakland, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara and the head of the International Affairs Division of San Francisco. He asked that they work on revitalizing Mayors for Peace activities on the west coast and strengthen collaborative ties with Des Moines, a leader city in the United States, and reaffirmed that they will continue to work together.
The mayor of Oakland was proactive about cooperating in activities to increase membership. The mayor of Los Angeles explained that Los Angeles is promoting initiatives to address environmental issues as an SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) leader in the United States, and expressed active interest in cooperating in activities regarding A-bomb survivor trees.
The mayor of Santa Barbara stated that they would like to focus even more on environmental destruction and peace issues.
Mr. Komizo also met with the former governor of California, a professor from Stanford University, the Japanese Consul-General in San Francisco and others. He explained to them that Mayors for Peace is focusing on the two goals of achieving a world with no nuclear weapons and creating safe cities that are full of vitality, as the path towards achieving perpetual world peace. In addition, Mr. Komizo also took the stage at a lecture session of the Los Angeles branch of PSR (Physicians for Social Responsibility), an organization that was the driving force behind the adoption of the resolution supporting the abolition of nuclear weapons by multiple cities in the United States in 2018. He spoke about the importance of holding cooperative dialogue while recognizing diversity to achieve a peaceful world, and called for the promotion of initiatives aiming for peace.

Attendance at the 2019 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference

Mr. Komizo attended the 2019 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference held in Washington D.C. This is an international conference that is held once every two years by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an influential think tank in the United States. At the conference, diplomats, researchers, experts and others meet to discuss issued that the global community is facing, such as nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, and look for solutions to the issues.
Mr. Komizo was a panelist in a session that forecast the global situation regarding nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation over the next two years. In front of around 800 people who had gathered from 45 countries around the world, he spoke about the message of the hibakusha and the initiatives of Mayors for Peace. He emphasized the role to be played by local governments to achieve a world without nuclear weapons, and appealed strongly for the importance of the diverse members of civic society combining their strength to work together.