After attending the Memorial Ceremony at 8:00 a.m., the Prime Minister took part in a press conference just in front of the Peace Museum. It was over in five minutes. He left for Hiroshima Station at 8:55. He spent about one hour in Peace Memorial Park. It almost seemed like he was escaping Hiroshima.

Prime Minister Koizumi has attended the ceremony for three consecutive years, ever since he was elected. The first year he attended the Meeting to Hear Demands comprised of representatives of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, the Prefectural North Korean A-bomb Sufferers Council and five other organizations. This year and last, he skipped that meeting.

When he skipped the meeting last year, he said, "It is important to maintain a division of labor with the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor." His reasoning is that the minister in charge has heard the demands, so there is no problem. However, there are almost no opportunities for the Prime Minister to hear the voices of hibakusha in person. But why can't the prime minister of the only A-bombed nation in the world find time to listen directly to the hibakusha? This would seem to be an obvious duty of a leader whose role includes convincing the world to abolish nuclear weapons.

Health, Welfare, and Labor Minister Chikara Sakaguchi, who did attend the Meeting to Hear Demands said, "It is regrettable that he refused to come again this year. I intend to protest." Hibakusha expressed their dissatisfaction as well saying, "There are so many problems that cannot be solved by anyone else." This was a natural reaction from hibakusha who were looking forward to presenting their case in person.

Hiroshima's Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba in his Peace Declaration quoted US President Lincoln's statement that "You can't fool all the people all the time." He also criticized the war on Iraq saying, "And the weapons of mass destruction that served as the excuse for the war have yet to be found." He also displayed great concern over the damage resulting from depleted uranium weapons. Such statements amount to a criticism of the prime minister, who was among the first to support the US in this war. Moreover, Mayor Akiba demanded in the Declaration that the government accepts as national precepts three new non-nuclear principles: allow no production, allow no possession, and allow no use of nuclear weapons anywhere in the world.

During the press conference after the ceremony, the prime minister responded to an accusation of obsequiousness toward the US saying, "That is a difference of opinion. Cooperation with the US is extremely important to guarding peace in Japan." This was merely a repetition of his previous idea. He expressed no concrete view of the demand for the new non-nuclear principles.

On the 6th, when the prime minister's Shinkansen arrived in Osaka he toured some small companies and the Ryotaro Shiba Museum. Then, he attended the Kansai Vital Culture Area Promotion Council. On the 7th, he will throw out the first pitch at the opening of the National Invitational High School Baseball Tournament at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. It would not be hard to argue that the prime minister is more interested in his party's presidential elections in the fall and the predicted subsequent Diet dissolution and general election than he is in Hiroshima.

We fear that it may become accepted practice for prime ministers to avoid the Meeting to Hear Demands and the visit to the nursing home for elderly survivors, in which case the August 6 visit will be empty form. Today, when the role of Hiroshima is more important than ever, we hope the prime minister will realize that Japan's role is also growing.