On Thursday, an anti-nuclear activist and the former mayor of Hiroshima, Japan’s nuclear-bombed prefecture, begged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use nuclear weapons in the current conflict in Ukraine.
Tadatoshi Akiba made the comments during a press conference in Tokyo, as Russia continues to fight in Ukraine.
Akiba, who started a petition opposing nuclear weapons usage, has invited world leaders who have nuclear weapons to visit the two Japanese cities to “understand firsthand the destruction a nuclear assault may do.”
He also requested that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meet with Putin and other presidents of nuclear-armed states to “convey the beliefs of ‘hibakusha’ (survivors of the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs in World War II)” who want nuclear weapons banned. News from Kyodo
On Thursday, an anti-nuclear activist and the former mayor of Hiroshima, Japan’s nuclear-bombed prefecture, begged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use nuclear weapons in the current conflict in Ukraine.
Tadatoshi Akiba made the comments during a press conference in Tokyo, as Russia continues to fight in Ukraine.
Akiba, who started a petition opposing nuclear weapons usage, has invited world leaders who have nuclear weapons to visit the two Japanese cities to “understand firsthand the destruction a nuclear assault may do.”
He also requested that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meet with Putin and other presidents of nuclear-armed states to “convey the beliefs of ‘hibakusha’ (survivors of the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs in World War II)” who want nuclear weapons banned. News from Kyodo
“The victims of the 1945 US atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced a ‘living hell’ and the horrible truth that they somehow managed to live,” Akiba remarked.
After declaring war on Ukraine on February 24, Russia activated its nuclear forces.
It drew worldwide censure, prompted financial sanctions against Moscow, and prompted an exodus of global corporations from the country.
Since the start of the battle in Ukraine, at least 726 people have died and 1,174 have been injured, according to the UN, however conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the real tally.
According to the UN refugee agency, more than 3.1 million people have fled to neighboring nations.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s request for “discussions on the prospect of a nuclear weapon sharing agreement with the US” was also opposed by Akiba.
He warned that such conflict-inducing language should not be used carelessly, especially by the previous prime minister.
Kishida, who is elected from a Hiroshima electoral seat and has pushed for a world free of nuclear weapons, has rejected Abe’s demand.
The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by atomic bombs unleashed by the United States during World War II.
In 1945, the United States detonated nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing at least 140,000 people by the end of the year. Hiroshima was the location of the world’s first atomic explosion on August 6, 1945.