Look again Hiroshima and Nagasaki with Hibakusha’s Eyes and Human Heart

International Citizens’ Conference for No More Hiroshimas & Nagasakis
E-mail:hironaga@jca.apc.org
program
declaration

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International Citizens’ Conference for No More Hiroshimas & Nagasakis

With nearly 60 years that elapsed since then, we must look again what Hiroshima and Nagasaki teach us. In the effort to make known to the people in Japan and worldwide the damage caused by the A-bombings, the conference will send out a message saying, “There should not be another Hibakusha”; “Abolish nuclear weapons”; and “No more tragedies of war”.
The Hibakusha believes that as long as nuclear weapons exist, the humans cannot open a hopeful future, nor can they promise young people and children a world free of the ominous fear. We look forward to talking with you. yes"> yes">

Conference Objectives:
Together, we will achieve following objectives:

- Grasping and presenting the whole picture of the damage caused by the A-bombings, including newly discovered facts and still remaining tasks to be carried out;
- Bringing together different perceptions and views on the meaning of “Hiroshima” and “Nagasaki”. Through discussions and interactions between them, the conference will bring under focus the inhuman, criminal nature of the A-bombings. It will show that the movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons is the only answer.
- Listening to the Hibakusha talk of their sufferings on “those two days”, their hardship and deep discontents they have carried in heart for 60 years, as well as of their current problems. The Conference will encourage young generation to inherit Hibakusha’s memory and determination.
Date: July 29 (Friday) – 31(Sunday), 2005
Place: Nihon-Seinen-Kan7-1 Kasumigaoka-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0013

Classic Concert“MIZUWO (Please, water!)”

A classical music concert devoted to the International Citizens’ Conference will take place in the evening on July 30, 2005 at Nihon-Seinen-kan.
Mr. Herwig Reiter, a conductor and composer, lives in Vienna. He was a member of the Vienna Boys’ Choir. He taught art of conducting at the University of Music-Vienna. He was awarded the Honor of music – Austria in 2003. He frequently visited Japan with the choir or the orchestra of the University of Music – Vienna.
He is warmly supportive of peace movement. Having visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he deepened sympathy with the Hibakusha. Taking a hint from “Please give me water”, a poem of Tamiki HARA, he composed a symphony, “Mizuwo”.
In the concert, he will conduct the Tokyo Fiore Orchestra to perform the Symphony “Mizuwo” and a number of popular classical music. Admission: \5,000

Program

July 29(Fri.)
18:00 Opening
Full Session on “Damage caused by the A-bombs”

July 30(Sat.)
09:00-12:00   Workshop “Damage caused by the A-bombs – 1”
                         Workshop “Damage caused by the A-bombs – 2”
Lunch
13:00-15:00   Full Session on “Criminality of nuclear weapons”
15:00-17:30   Workshop on “Criminality of nuclear weapons – 1”
                        Workshop on “Criminality of nuclear weapons – 2”
                        Workshop on “Rights and demands of the Hibakusha – 1”
18:00-21:00   Classical Music Concert “Mizuwo”

July 31(Sun.)
09:00-12:00   Workshop on “Rights and demands of the Hibakusha – 2”
                         Workshop on “Inheriting memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 1”
                        Workshop on “Inheriting memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 2”
　　　　　　　　　Workshop on “Inheriting memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 3”
Lunch
13:00-15:30   Citizens Rally in memory of the 60 Years of the A-bomb tragedies”
16:00-            Open air action

Request for your support, cooperation and donation

The International Citizens’ Conference is being prepared on the basis of the support, cooperation and donation from ordinary citizens everywhere. We cordially request for your contribution.
If you support this project and are willing to financially assist the organization, we would appreciate receiving your donation by international postal order to:
International Citizens’ Conference for No More Hiroshimas and Nagasakis
00120-8-259509

Organizing Committee members:

AKIBA Tadatoshi (Mayor of Hiroshima)
ITO Itcho (Mayor of Nagasaki)
ANZAI Ikuro (Director of the International Peace Museum, Ritsumeikan University)
IKEDA Masanori (Lawyer)
INOUE Hisashi (Writer)
UMEBAYASHI Hiromichi (Peace Depot)
OKUBO Ken’ichi (Secretary General, Japanese Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms)
OKAMOTO Mitsuo (Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition)
KAWABATA Kuniyo (Director, YWCA of Japan)
KAWASAKI Akira (Partner, Peace Boat)
KAWASAKI Shoichiro (Professor emeritus, University of Chiba)
KINA Shokichi (Singer-song writer)
SAWADA Shoji (Professor emeritus, University of Nagoya)
SHINAGAWA Takashi (Managing director, Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union)
SHONO Naomi (Professor emeritus, Hiroshima Jogakuin University)
TAKAKUSAKI Hiroshi (Secretary General, Japan Council against A and H Bombs)
TAKAHASHI Tetsuya (Professor, Graduate School of the University of Tokyo)
TANAKA Terumi (Secretary General, Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bombs Sufferers’ Organizations)
TSUCHIYAMA Hideo (Former president, University of Nagasaki)
TSUBOI Sunao (Co-chair, Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bombs Sufferers’ Organizations)
TOHEI Nori (Co-chair, Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bombs Sufferers’ Organizations)
TONOUE Teiichiro (Physicians against Nuclear Weapons – Tokyo)
TOMIYAMA Yoko (Japan Consumers Union)
NAITO Masayoshi (Lawyer)
NAKAAZE Tsuyako (President, National Federation of Regional Women’s Organizations)
NOGUCHI Kunikazu (Japan Scientists Association)
HANAWA Gyoko (President, Nipponzan Myohoji)
HAYASAKA Akira (Writer)
HAMATANI Masaharu (Professor, University of Hitotsubashi)
HIRAYAMA Takehisa (Physicians and Medical Scientists against Nuclear War and for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons)
FUKUYAMA Shingo (Secretary General, Japan Congress against A and H Bombs)
HIDA Shuntaro (Director, National Medical Consultation Center attached to Nihon HIDANKYO)
MATSUURA Toshiaki (President, Japan SEINENDAN Council)
MIZUSHIMA Asaho (Professor, Waseda University)
YAMAGUCHI Senji (Co-chair, Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bombs Sufferers’ Organizations)
YAMAMOTO Toshimasa (General secretary, National Christian Council in Japan)
YUKAWA Reiko (Music critic)
YOKOKAWA Yoshinori (A-bomb survivor)
Yi Kwang Sun (President, Korean Atomic Bomb Casualty Association)

Hibakusha Campaign at Present

<Concerted Lawsuits Action for Recognition of the A-bomb Diseases by the Government>
Many Hibkakusha, people who suffered from the A-bombs in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, are carrying on their concerted action of lawsuits in many cities in Japan calling for the cancellation of the Government’s decision of refusing to recognize the diseases of the Hibakusha as having been caused by the A-bombs. They determined to file suits, wanting the government to recognize that their cancers, or any other diseases tormenting them, were the A-bombs caused
The number of the A-bomb sufferers totals about 273,000 in Japan. Many of them are suffering from different kinds of ill. Of them, however, only some 2000 are recognized as contracting “diseases caused by the A-bomb”. The government believes that the only radiation released at the moment of explosion of the bomb can cause the damage to the human body, and thus has totally ignored the effects of radioactive fallout or of other residual radioactivity. This position of the government amounts to a claim that nuclear weapons, even if used, would not cause much damage.
The International Citizens’ Conference will present various problems resulted from the A-bombings that were revealed in the current lawsuits, and help develop public voices for the drastic review of the Hibakusha-aid-policies and for a switch of the current policy on nuclear weapons.

Towards the NPT Review Conference

In May 2005, after an interval of five years, the next review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will take place. At the last review conference in 2000, the nuclear weapons states agreed on an “unequivocal undertaking” to accomplish “complete elimination” of their nuclear arsenals. In the ensuing years, however, the United States, following the terrorist attacks, made clear that it would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons. The US also decided that it would develop low yield nuclear weapons. This attitude is contrary to its “unequivocal undertaking”.
All the more because of this development, we must make known to the world what was brought about by the A-bombings, build the understanding about the danger of nuclear weapons and accelerate the process to the total abolition.
At present, the proposal on the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020 put forward by the Mayors for Peace, led by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is gathering worldwide support. Many other initiatives on campaigns and actions are being taken and underway.
In preparing the International Citizens’ Conference, we will bring the NPT review conference in sight. We will contribute to it by disseminating the message of the Hibakusha to the world and thus helping to build up momentum for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Four Themes of the Conference:

The Organizing Committee of the International Citizens’ Conference for No More Hiroshimas and Nagasakis has set up sub-committees in line with the following four topics. The subcommittees are engaged in inquiry, research and campaign activities. The sessions and workshops during the Conference will be coordinated based on the achievements of these activities.
On July 31, the Conference will convene a Citizens Rally in memory of the 60 years since the A-bombings. The outcome of the International Citizens’ Conference will be reported to the rally. A message will be issued from there to the United Nations, its member states governments, UNESCO and the peoples around the world
Theme 1: Analyzing Full Scope of Damage of Hiroshima/Nagasaki Caused by the A-bombings
Presenting the whole picture of the damage caused by the A-bombings, the conference will also take up recently elucidated problems, including the effects of the low-level radiation and the problem of gross underestimation of its impact, the mental effects of the experience of the A-bombing, and the damage in its full aspects that affected and continues to affect the Hibakusha for the whole of the 60 years.

Theme 2: Criminality of Nuclear Weapons
The Conference will bring together difference perceptions and understanding of the meaning of “Hiroshima” and “Nagasaki”. Through examination from different angles, the conference will make clear the inhuman, criminal nature of the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It will also challenge various arguments intended to try to justify nuclear weapons. The Conference will also take up problems of the sufferings of people from nuclear testing and other nuclear development in the world.

Theme 3: Rights and Demands of the Hibakusha:
The Conference will address the problem of the state responsibility on the damage of the A-bombings, and will help the Hibakusha to win their demand for a State-compensation from the Japanese Government. It will also take up problems facing the Hibakusha overseas and the 2nd and 3rd generation of the Hibakusha, and formulate demands for relief measures. The concerted lawsuits action of the Hibakusha for the recognition of their A-bomb diseases, now in progress, will be another important focal point of the conference.

Theme 4: Inheriting memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Conference, to make known “Hiroshima” and “Nagasaki” ever more widely, will explore ways and means to promote peace and disarmament education, as well as the role of mass media. It will also explore an approach to various establishments and organizations both in Japan and overseas. The Conference will serve as a forum where participants will exchange views and experiences of their activities for inheriting and carrying forwards the meanings of “Hiroshima” and “Nagasaki”