Victims' messages prevented 3rd nuke attack
July 28 Kyodo - Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said Wednesday messages from victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of the western Japanese city effectively prevented a third nuclear attack.Akiba, who became the new Hiroshima mayor in February, told a luncheon meeting of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan that the voices of A-bomb survivors succeeded in reaching key decision-makers, thus blocking a third nuclear catastrophe from occurring.
He objected to the view that a nuclear war has been prevented solely by the theory of nuclear deterrence, represented by mutually assured destruction between the two major nuclear powers of the Untied States and Russia, saying those in charge of nuclear policies must have had ''respect'' for the survivors.
On top of stopping a third nuclear attack, A-bomb victims achieved two other victories, Akiba pointed out. They chose to continue living as human beings in a situation of ''bottomless agony and hell on earth,'' and have been advocates of a ''cooperative and altruistic'' model for relations among nations, he said.
However, the mayor regretted the fact that the global situation surrounding nuclear weapons does not reflect the victims' wishes despite all their efforts. He said the use of nuclear weapons is these days considered not an ''absolute evil'' but a ''lesser evil,'' 54 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The mayor also said he will emphasize a ''bridge between generations'' in the city's annual peace declaration to be issued at the upcoming anniversary of the A-bombing on Aug. 6. ''Hiroshima is responsible for passing down the messages of victims to future generations as well as to other countries,'' he said.
Akiba, a former House of Representatives member of the Social Democratic Party, criticized the Japanese government's failure to clearly express its antinuclear stance, stressing that strong political will is needed to achieve a nuclear-free world.
He countered criticism that Hiroshima only emphasizes the damage suffered by A-bomb victims without dwelling on what brought about such attacks on Japan, saying the A-bomb victims had no choice but to convey their antinuclear experiences and tell the truth.
Akiba defended movements by A-bomb victims emphasizing the tragedy of nuclear weapons, and insisted that such victims should not be blamed for failing to advance nuclear disarmament, saying that nuclear powers still clinging to weapons of mass destruction are to blame. ==Kyodo
