Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has stressed Japan will lead international efforts to heighten momentum for nuclear disarmament. Kishida made the pledge at a ceremony in Hiroshima on Tuesday to mark the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
Kishida said the calamities that struck 79 years ago and the human sufferings endured by the people must never be repeated.
He said that conveying the realities of the atomic bombings, firmly maintaining the country’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles, and making consistent efforts to pursue a “world free of nuclear arms” are the missions of Japan — the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings.
Kishida said, “The deepening divide in the global community over nuclear arms reduction as well as nuclear threats made by Russia are turning the environment surrounding nuclear disarmament even bleaker.”
“But no matter how rocky the path toward a ‘world without nuclear arms’ may be, we simply cannot stop our progress,” he said.
Kishida pledged Japan will make realistic and practical efforts, and lead the international community to heighten the momentum for nuclear disarmament.
The prime minister also pointed out the significance of the proposed Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty that would ban the production of components of nuclear weapons. He suggested he will aim for the start of international negotiations for the treaty.
Kishida also said his government will continue to stand by the aging hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivors, and promote comprehensive relief measures to support them.