August 27, 2010
Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba
It is my great honor to send a message to the 19th IPPNW World Congress in Basel, Switzerland. I very much wish I could be with you at what I know will be a crucial event.
Sixty-five years ago, the hibakusha, A-bomb survivors, experienced the inhumanity of the atomic bombings and the “end of the world.” Since then, they have asserted that, “No one else should ever suffer as we did.”
The NPT Review Conference in New York this past May gave evidence of the guiding influence of that message. The Final Document expresses the unanimous intent of the parties to seek the abolition of nuclear weapons; underscores the catastrophic impact of any nuclear weapon use; notes the valuable contribution of civil society; notes that a majority favors the establishment of timelines for the nuclear weapons abolition process; and highlights the need for a nuclear weapons convention or new legal framework.
The urgency of nuclear weapons abolition is permeating our global conscience; the voice of the vast majority is becoming the preeminent force for change in the international community. We must now do everything in our power to complete the task. The recent Hiroshima Conference on the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons by 2020 contributed to this task. Its Appeal identified two critical areas of work: first, achieving a greater level of unity and coordination among not just the anti-nuclear-weapon forces but also with other sectors of civil society, including groups concerned with climate change, humanitarian law, and the global economic crisis; second, eliciting true governmental leadership for the establishment of a nuclear-weapons-free world.
The Appeal recognizes the valuable contributions of IPPNW and ICAN on the first point, and regarding the second point, proposes the convening of “a special disarmament conference in 2011 to facilitate the start of negotiation on a nuclear weapons convention.” We believe this is a challenge governments are ready to rise to, but they need a bit of encouragement from civil society. I do hope you will all make the “special conference” one of your key objectives in 2011.
To achieve our overall goal within the 2020 timeframe, we will have to generate tremendous global momentum. People everywhere will have to press their nations hard to develop the political will required to abolish nuclear weapons. In this context, your Congress is a wonderful opportunity to discuss our future without nuclear weapons, and I hereby express my deepest respect for your commitment and endeavors.
Eliminating nuclear weapons from the world will be one of humanity’s greatest achievements. To celebrate this achievement in 2020, the City of Hiroshima is exploring the feasibility of bidding for the 2020 Olympics, which we would make a “Festival of Peace.”
I sincerely hope that, with your support, we can make our two dreams — a nuclear-weapon-free world and the Hiroshima Olympics — come true in the current decade. I have no doubt that your Congress will lead to an influential outcome that will guide the international community to a powerful unified campaign.
Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima
Nuclear Abolition: For a Future 
February 8, 2011 at 9:18 am
[…] The Japanese city of Hiroshima held its annual peace memorial ceremony Thursday to remember the first atomic bomb ever used against human beings on this day 64 years ago. Tens of thousands of people from nearly 60 countries offered their prayers and a moment of silence at Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, near “ground zero” where the bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, leaving thousands dead. At precisely 8:15 am, the time when the US B-29 warplane dropped the bomb, people at the park and throughout the city observed a minute’s silence in memory of those who perished. Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said he hoped US President Barack Obama’s administration would take concrete steps towards a “world without nuclear weapons.” [Tadatoshi Akiba, Hiroshima Mayor]: “US President Obama said in Prague that as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act in an effort to realize a world without nuclear weapons.” The mayor has called those seeking abolishment of nuclear weapons “Obama-jority” citizens, and Hiroshima has launched a campaign to support the US president’s commitment. In July, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed on a target for nuclear arms cuts, pledging to finalize a treaty by year-end to lower the number of deployed warheads on each side. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso spoke at the memorial, also calling for world peace. [Taro Aso, Japanese Prime Minister]: “In order for us not to repeat the … On this subject see: https://ippnwbasel.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/greeting-from-mayor-tadatoshi-akiba-2/ […]