Today is the first "Hiroshima A-bomb Day" of the new century, and dark clouds threaten the glimmer of hope for nuclear abolishment that emerged at the end of the previous century. The clouds stem from concern about the United States' new Bush administration and its movement toward unilateralism, dashing cold water on the very concept of international cooperation. The Japanese government, led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who enjoys overwhelming public support, has thus far failed to criticize the U.S. from a pacifist viewpoint. As citizens of an A-bombed city, we need to be persistent in issuing warnings against any movement that threatens to reverse our efforts toward nuclear abolition.

- The lost messages

Many victims died at the Hiroshima Municipal Fukuromachi Elementary School, located approximately 500 meters from the epicenter. Last spring, a half-century later, messages were found on the wall behind a blackboard. The messages were written by the victims and by those who came in search of family members. The wall was cut out, and is now on display for a limited time in a glass case. The messages were written on the rough concrete surface in white chalk. They contain the names of the missing with notes such as, "Please contact us if you know the whereabouts of...." Rather than conveying the devastation of the bombing, these messages are filled with love for family members. We were moved by the sudden surfacing of this long-lost "familial love."

Some deep psychological traumas did not surface until after more than half a century. Poet Bun Hashidume (70) of Yamato, Kanagawa, is an A-bomb victim, who was at the Postal Savings Office in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, about 1.5 kilometers from the epicenter. Hashidume was injured and lost a younger brother. It was only last month that she was finally able to publish a book about her experience, "A-bomb Experience of a Girl at Fourteen."

After the bombing, Hashidume saw a terrifyingly beautiful sunset. As dark descended, a huge flock of crows appeared and descended on the bodies buried amid the ruins. It was a scene from hell. As Hashidume lay bleeding profusely in this gruesome hell, a friend kept calling her name, saying, "If you fall asleep, you will die." A young man quietly kept carrying a kettle of water to the badly injured victims who were begging for water. "It was a painful experience, but amid the pain, I also saw the beauty and wonder of human nature at its best."

Hashidume has been amazingly active in the past ten years. She started to study English at 60; a year later she was blessed with an opportunity to study in Scotland. Her poems about the A-bomb experience were translated into English and presented to an astounded audience.

- Eyewitness accounts of A-bomb victims needed overseas

Hashidume has visited many countries, including New Zealand. She met people from a non-governmental organization (NGO) involved in bringing the issue of illegality of nuclear weapons to the Court of International Justice. She also had an opportunity to talk about her experience to elementary, middle, and high school students in Australia. The students, who sat stone-faced at first, "were gradually moved, many of them tearful." "Love" and "trust" toward humans amidst the horror seem to move the foreign listeners. Eyewitness accounts of A-bomb victims are needed around the world.

Due partly to the efforts of the NGO that Hashidume met during her trip, nuclear abolition has made much progress in the past several years. For example, the Court of International Justice issued an advisory opinion that nuclear weapons are "generally contrary to international law." At the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, the nuclear states promised an "unequivocal undertaing to eliminate their nuclear arsenals." The United Nations adopted the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). However, the United States, under the new Bush administration, seems poised to break these international promises simply because they "do not serve our national interest."

The Bush administration aims to turn the CTBT into a dead letter, claiming that "the treaty is fatally flawed." Meanwhile, it has been revealed that they have ordered a study that would greatly reduce the preparation period required for an underground nuclear test, which generally requires three years for preparation. There is no doubt that they are looking to resume nuclear testing.

- Dangerous missile defense

The Bush administration conducted a third interceptor test of its star wars technology on July 14 and announced a "success." The administration also aims to amend or withdraw from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), which has thus far been considered the foundation of the nuclear deterrence regime. In any event, the star wars system will undoubtedly trigger another nuclear arms race, since other nuclear states cannot be expected to sit idly by and watch while their own nuclear weapons are rendered powerless. And, if China takes a new step, India and Pakistan are bound to follow. The idea of using power to curb power is clearly obsolete and destined to fail. The time has come to abandon such ideas as relics of the 20th century.

The Bush administration seems to have placed the priority on giving itself a free hand to use its power, regardless of what other countries think. This "self-righteousness" is dangerous. Japan is the only ally of the United States that can lay claim to being an A-bomb victim. As such, Japan has the responsibility to be the first ally to issue a "warning" about the danger. Yet the Koizumi administration refuses to alter is official "understanding" of the star wars program.

Four years ago in a peace declaration, then-Mayor Takashi Hiraoka of Hiroshima City asked the Japanese government to "establish a security system that does not depend on a nuclear umbrella." Then-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto reportedly said, "That's impossible. The Mayor does not know the fearful power of the United States." Professor Mitsuru Kurosawa of Osaka University graduate school advocates a strategy of joining with Canada and Australia, who ardently support nuclear disarmament, in appealing to the U.S. This seems like a good idea and we urge the Japanese government to take this action.

According to a survey conducted by the Japan Public Opinion Research Group, 55% of Japanese citizens think the "nuclear umbrella is unnecessary." Criticism of the new administration is mounting in the U.S. Let's communicate the A-bomb victims' experience to people in Japan and overseas. Let's appeal to public opinion to restore human love and trust. And, let's issue a powerful and effective warning.