In observance of the 78th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Japan
We, the undersigned, representing a coalition of concerned peace and civil society organizations
in the United States, are advocating for the elimination of nuclear weapons globally. We join to
express our sincere regrets and apologies for our nation’s atomic bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Although our government has not apologized officially for this horror, we would like
to extend our deepest condolences to the atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha), descendants of
hibakusha, as well as all those impacted by the U.S. nuclear testing in the Pacific, who have
endured great mental and physical hardships for decades. May you and the generations behind
you continue to heal, speak truth to power and walk towards justice. We will always walk beside
you.
We also send our solidarity to those affected by the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
plant disaster. We are inspired by the courageous Fukushima youth plaintiffs of the 311
Children’s Thyroid Cancer Trial who sued the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to hold
it accountable for the youth’s pediatric thyroid cancer, which is one of the known adverse effects
of radiation exposure. The use of nuclear technology – whether military or civilian – comes with
enormous risks and incalculable consequences; it undermines democracy, it is not economically
viable or sustainable, and it is not a solution to the climate crisis. Effective global nuclear
disarmament will not be possible as long as we continue to allow the commercial use of
plutonium and highly enriched uranium.
We call for Japan and TEPCO to halt their proposed plan to dump more than 1.3 million metric
tons of radioactive wastewater for three decades or more from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi
into the Pacific Ocean. We request that Japan explore alternative safer options, such as long-term
storage at or near the site, to protect the environment and to minimize the health impacts on
people and all living things. We must not forget that Pacific Islands nations are facing
devastating impacts of climate crisis, and that they have still been living with the threats of
remaining contamination exposure, decimated environments, and generational trauma from
nuclear testing conducted by nuclear-armed states, such as the United States.
We regret that President Biden’s visit in Hiroshima during the G7 Summit was extremely
disrespectful to hibakusha and their supporters. It was unacceptable that President Biden brought
the nuclear football to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, that he used Hiroshima to strengthen
military alliance with the U.S. allies, that he met Prime Minister Kishida to share the view that
extended deterrence – including the U.S. nuclear umbrella – and strengthening Japan’s defense
capabilities are essential, and he promised President Zelensky additional military aid while they
were in Hiroshima. Instead, Biden could have utilized the Summit to negotiate roadmaps to end
ongoing wars and to eliminate nuclear weapons from this planet.
To achieve peace in the northeast Asia region, we call on Japan to join us in supporting the peace
process on the Korean Peninsula. Here in the United States, the Peace on the Korean Peninsula
Act has been reintroduced by Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA). The bill supports the
commitments made at Panmunjom in April of 2018 by the leaders of the Korean Peninsula and
calls for the US Secretary of State to pursue urgent diplomatic engagement with the Republic of
Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in pursuit of a binding peace agreement
constituting a formal end to the Korean War.
In 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force. Although
the Treaty does not legally bind the U.S. because our government has neither signed nor ratified
it, all nuclear weapons, including the U.S. stockpile, have been declared unlawful by the
international community.
We call upon Japan to relinquish the so-called “nuclear umbrella” of the United States by swiftly
signing and ratifying the TPNW. We are concerned that many of the non-nuclear weapon states,
such as Japan, believe that regional security is enhanced by the nuclear weapons of the United
States, although the “nuclear umbrella” did not prevent war in Europe as certain nuclear weapon
states had claimed. Indeed, the war in Ukraine has exposed the risks of the entire nuclear
enterprise. We deplore Japan’s strengthening of military alliances with the United States and
their allies. Establishing a NATO office in Tokyo will not make the region safer, as the world
has become more dangerous under such military alliance and nuclear deterrence policy that
escalated tensions. Under the TPNW, relying on the nuclear umbrella of the nuclear-armed states
is a form of conspiracy to engage in unlawful activities under international law, because the
TPNW not only prohibits nations from developing, producing, stockpiling, or threatening to use
nuclear weapons, but also it prohibits nations from encouraging or inducing anyone to engage in
any of these activities.
We will continue to demand that the government of the U.S. sign and ratify the TPNW, and
embark on a multilateral dialogue with all nuclear-armed states to eliminate all nuclear weapons
on this planet. We look forward to continuing our collaboration to achieve a nuclear-free world
where, as the preamble of your constitution states, “all peoples of the world have the right to live
in peace, free from fear and want.”
NO MORE HIROSHIMA
NO MORE NAGASAKI
NO MORE FUKUSHIMA
NO MORE WAR
NO MORE HIBAKUSHA
NEVER AGAIN!
August 8, 2023
Endorsed by US organizations (representing in total of more than 391,600 members and supporters):
Veterans for Peace – NYC Chapter 34
Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World
Action Corps
Baltimore Nonviolence Center
Ben Salmon for Sainthood
Brooklyn For Peace
Broome County Peace Action
Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security
Coalition Against Nukes
CODEPINK
Environmentalists Against War
Erwin Citizens Awareness Network (ECAN)
Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace
Granny Peace Brigade, NYC
Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York
Judson Memorial Church
Long Island Alliance For Peaceful Alternatives
Memory Productions
Monterey Peace and Justice Center
New Hampshire Peace Action
New York Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
New York Catholic Worker
No Nukes Action
North Country Peace Group
No War Westchester
Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)
Nuclear Hotseat Podcast/Broadcast
Nuclear Watch South
Nukewatch
NYC Metro Raging Grannies
NY Committees of Correspondence for Democracy & Socialism
NYC War Resisters League
Office of Peace, Justice, and Ecological Integrity/Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth
Pax Christi New York State
Peace Action Manhattan
Peace Action New York State
Peace Action of Staten Island
Peace Boat US
Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College
Physicians for Social Responsibility- NY
Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
Raging Grannies and their Daughters of New York Cities
Rise and Resist
Rising Together
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
South Country Peace Group, Inc.
Stand with Okinawa NY
The Ribbon International
United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC)
Uptown Progressive Action
Veterans for Peace the Hector Black Chapter
WESPAC Foundation, Inc.
World BEYOND War, U.S. Chapters
World Can’t Wait
Youth Arts New York/Hibakusha Stories
Contact info:
Veterans For Peace – NYC Chapter 34
80-62 214th Street
Queens Village, NY 11427