Why not this year?

August 6, 2015

PM Abe makes no mention of 3 non-nuclear principles in A-bomb anniversary speech

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150806p2a00m0na021000c.html

HIROSHIMA -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made no mention of the country's self-imposed "three non-nuclear principles" in his speech during a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6.

Successive Japanese prime ministers have attended memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima and given speeches since 1994. But it was the first time for a prime minister to make no mention of the "three non-nuclear principles" that ban the possession, production and import of nuclear arms. Prime Minister Abe has attended the Hiroshima memorial ceremony for three consecutive years. He had said Japan would stick to the three non-nuclear principles during three previous memorial ceremonies, including one in 2007 during his first stint as prime minister.

Hibaskusha (A-bomb survivors) who attended the memorial ceremony were shocked and disappointed by the fact that Abe did not touch on the three non-nuclear principles in his speech. Yuriko Kinoshita, a 70-year-old housewife in Hiroshima's Naka Ward who offered flowers at the ceremony as a representative of Hiroshima citizens, said, "Why didn't he include them? I hope this year will not become a turning point toward war." Toyoko Okamura, 74, from Hatsuka, Hiroshima Prefecture, who lost her elder brother in the atomic bombing, said, "That's too bad because I am hoping for the realization of a world free of nuclear weapons."

After the memorial ceremony, Abe attended a meeting held at a Hiroshima hotel to hear requests from representatives of hibakusha groups. Abe said at the meeting that the government will "stick to the three non-nuclear principles" as its basic policy. Yukio Yoshioka, 86-year-old secretary-general of the Hiroshima Alliance of A-bomb Survivor Organizations, said, "The three non-nuclear principles are the state's basic policy founded on victims of atomic bombings." He went on to say, "I wanted him to touch on the three non-nuclear principles at the ceremony while facing the cenotaph for A-bomb victims. If this goes on, the victims of atomic bombings cannot rest in peace."

In his speech at the Aug. 6 memorial ceremony, Prime Minister Abe made no reference to security-related bills that are currently being deliberated in the House of Councillors. At the meeting to hear requests from representatives of A-bomb survivors, members of hibakusha groups bitterly criticized the security legislation, saying for example, "The contents and procedures violate the Constitution." As a common request, seven hibakusha groups jointly demanded the government withdraw the security-related bills, stating, "It is an ultimate act of going against the long-standing wishes of hibakusha."

In reference to the security-related bills, Abe called for understanding from hibakusha, saying, "We need them to avert war."