Koizumi at Nagasaki-- pledges to help eliminate nuclear weapons

[Art_from_Ark]

Today was Nagasaki Remembrance Day here in Japan, and, as is the tradition, a peace ceremony was held in Nagasaki-- the 58th-- to ask the world to work for peace. Among the speakers was Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese prime minister who has come under some heat recently for his efforts to send Japanese self-defense forces to Iraq, in apparent violation of the Japanese constitution.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a discussion with a new poster on one of the Hiroshima threads-- an apparent American who reads Japanese and seems to have an inside scoop on the current Japanese administration's efforts to revise the Constitution. This poster predicted that Japan would be the next official member of the Nuclear Club.

This idea is anathema to me, and to most of the people of Japan. At the ceremony today, Mr. Koizumi reaffirmed Japan's commitment to eschew nuclear weapons. The Mainichi Interactive gives a summary of his speech, an excerpt of which follows:

　総理大臣として、本日の式典に臨み、平和への決意を新たにし、我が国が国際社会の先頭に立ち核軍縮・核不拡散の取り組みを推し進め、核兵器廃絶と恒久平和実現に向けて、全力で取り組んでいくことを誓います。

"As your prime minister, I would like to use this occasion (Nagasaki peace ceremony) to reaffirm (our) commitment to peace. I also pledge to use all my energy to make Japan a leader in the international community's efforts to reduce nuclear forces and promote nuclear non-proliferation so that we may be able to eliminate nuclear weapons and achieve an everlasting peace."

http://www.mainichi.co.jp/eye/feature/article/koizumi/200108/09-17.html

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. Really....

and Bush promises to eliminate all Nuclear Weapons that DON'T EXIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Art_from_Ark]

2. At the same ceremony, Nagasaki mayor Kazunaga Itoh

made an interesting statement:

長崎平和宣言で、伊藤一長市長は「超核大国のなかには、核軍縮の国際的約束ごとを一方的に破棄しようとする態度が見られる」と、名指しは避けながらも核実験全面禁止条約（ＣＴＢＴ）批准に消極的な米国の核政策を批判した。

"Among the supernuclear powers, we have seen an attitude of unilaterally trying to abandon international treaties on nuclear reduction". According to the Mainichi Interactive, while the mayor did not name names, this was a criticism of America's negative policy regarding ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

[seemslikeadream]

3. At our peace vigil

last night we had a special rememberance. People read poems, made paper cranes brought flowers. It was very moving. A girl I've know for 20 years spoke. She told of being born in Japan and was 3 years old when the bomb hit. Her mothers job was to count the dead. Very emotional evening for all.

[Art_from_Ark]

4. The closer you are to it, the more you realize how horrible

it all was.

The mayor of Nagasaki challenged all the world leaders to come to his city to see for themselves what happened-- perhaps then they would not be so eager to start new wars.