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PDF versionJapanese bishops speak out against nuclear arms
Feb. 28, 2010
The A-Bomb Dome, the nearest building to survive the Hiroshima bombing (Photo by Jesse Wilson)
TOKYO -- Bishops from Hiroshima and Nagasaki have called on world leaders to work towards the total abolition of nuclear weapons.
In an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama and the Japanese Government, the bishops said it was time to take the "courageous step."
"Nuclear weapons deprived over one hundred thousand people of their lives in an instant at the end of the previous world war. And bomb survivors continue to suffer physically and spiritually even now," Archbishop Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki and Bishop Atsumi Misue of Hiroshima wrote. The letter was dated Feb. 26.
"We…demand that the President of the United States, the Japanese government and the leaders of other countries make utmost efforts to abolish nuclear weapons."
The bishops described it as "sad and foolish to abuse the progress that humanity has made in the fields of science and technology, in order to destroy lives as massively and swiftly as possible, and to earn more profit by producing weapons!"
They said that there are currently more than 20,000 nuclear weapons in the world and it was "essential" to reduce the number.
The bishops urged world leaders to reach an agreement on reducing nuclear weapons at the Nuclear Security Summit in April and the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in May.
"We sincerely hope that world leaders will reach an agreement to take a secure step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, beyond their own interests," the two men said.
They said the Japanese government "seems to have an extremely passive attitude to nuclear arms reduction policies, not to mention the abolition of such arms."
They said Japan should demonstrate and implement what it will do toward the total abolition of nuclear weapons.
"Take a courageous step toward the total abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of a world without wars."
[Article printed from UCA News: http://www.ucanews.com]
I'm surprised Japanese
I'm surprised Japanese politicians are so "passive", given the country's proximity to North Korea.
I completely support the
I completely support the Japanese Bishop's call for the abolition of nuclear weapons, but how to do it? May I suggest that the Obama and Hatoyama administrations join in a concerted effort to establish Article Nine of the Japanese constitution as a guiding principle to all nations of the world? First, the U.S. needs to amend Article Nine to our own constitution. Second, Japan must publicly ratify her commitment to "no nuclear weapons production, no nuclear weapons use and no nuclear weapons storage on Japanese soil." Third, Japan must publicly abolish the nuclear secret pact that they have had with the U.S. for more than 50 years. Fourth, the U.S. must begin the abolition of nuclear weapons on our own soil. Once these four points are activated, Japan and the U.S. can take the leadership necessary to inspire other nations to abolish nuclear weapons.
May we expect US bishops to
May we expect US bishops to speak up on this issue?
Nuclear weapons are only the
Nuclear weapons are only the inevitable conclusion of an uncivilized premise--- wars of aggression between nations.
Japanese leaders conspicuously fail to address the antecedants of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki detonations. To wit: their own nations' aggression
against its close neighbors and ultimately the entirety of the Pacific Rim.
While I assume that many are sincere in their desire to free the entire world of nulear weapons, the use of the ultimate weapon has also given those who would seek to distract from their own peoples' responsibility for the tragedy of the Pacific War and the attendant atrocities a convenient diversion.
Your insistence that Japanese
Your insistence that Japanese biships acknowledge the "sins" of Japan in the 30s and 40s only serves to distract attention from the fact that the continued presence of nuclear weapons in the US and other countries is an ongoing threat to the entire world.
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