Rumiko Seya, Secretary General of the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention

Rumiko Seya

Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1977. Graduated from Chuo University and received an MA in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford in the UK. Specialist in post-conflict peacebuilding and reintegration of ex-combatants into society. In the past she held various positions in conflict areas, such as NGO staff (Rwanda), UN volunteer (Sierra Leone), Special Assistant to the Ambassador (Japanese Embassy, Afghanistan), and UN Peacekeeping Operations staff (Côte d'Ivoire). She became Secretary General of the JCCP in April 2007.

JCCP's website http://www.jccp.gr.jp/

Most of you who responded chose "the abolition of all nuclear weapons." I imagine this is due to the fact that most respondents live in Hiroshima and have plenty of opportunities to learn about the effects of nuclear weapons. The most prominent reason for this choice is that nuclear weapons are indiscriminate and cause many civilian casualties.

Other reasons cited were: "Even if nuclear weapons are not used, they can serve as a threat in negotiations" and "It is not necessarily the case that the countries chosen to control nuclear weapons would not use them; as long as they exist, someone may try to use them."

However, there are actually several obstacles that stand in the way of realizing the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Shoka Ikegami, a second-year student at Sagotani Junior High School says, "We don't know whether the nuclear powers will really dispose of all their nuclear weapons. If one country got rid of them earlier than other countries, it can be imagined that that country would fear it might be open to attack."

Also, for countries which regard nuclear weapons possession as a trump card in defense of their country and region, I think it has become necessary to suggest an alternative self-defense policy.

Some respondents chose the other option when responding to how nuclear weapons should be abolished:"...the United Nations and some select nuclear powers control nuclear weapons and guard against their misuse." The main reason was that abolition may be the ideal, but in reality, it would be difficult to realize because of the strong objections of the nuclear powers.

A-bomb survivors and members of peace groups stage a sit-in in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims to express their opposition to nuclear weapons testing. (October 2006)

This option is closer to the present real world situation. But who would select the nuclear powers and the people who control the nuclear weapons, and how would they be chosen? (from Akiho Nishimura, second-year student at Gion Higashi Junior High School)

Some countries are not UN members and would not participate in any agreement, while countries with a bad relationship with permanent members of the Security Council would oppose it. (from Ai Maeda, second-year student at Gion Higashi Junior High School)

For example, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is an agreement that prohibits countries other than the U.S., the UK, France, Russia, and China from possessing nuclear weapons, but it has no effect on countries such as India and Pakistan that are not signatories.

In the case of Iran, which, like Japan, has signed the NPT, they have declared that they will use nuclear power for peaceful purposes, such as nuclear power plants, not for nuclear weapons. But until a few years ago, they weren't reporting the fact that they were producing enriched Uranium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons, so some countries are suspicious of their declarations.

Japan doesn't possess nuclear weapons. However, since Japan's ally, the United States, maintains nuclear weapons, it has been pointed out that Japan will be protected in the event of conflict with neighboring countries. It is argued that this is no different from Japan itself possessing nuclear weapons. Are you familiar with the concept of sheltering under a "nuclear umbrella"? Some people criticize Japan, the first country to be attacked with nuclear weapons, for its advocacy of the abolition of nuclear weapons while being protected beneath a nuclear umbrella.

Another opinion is that Japan should possess nuclear weapons in her own right, apart from the United States.

However, A-bomb survivors who actually experienced the terror of nuclear weapons emphatically demand the abolition of nuclear weapons, as nuclear weapons and human beings cannot co-exist. Mayors for Peace, with the mayor of Hiroshima as its chairman, aims to abolish all nuclear weapons from the earth by 2020 and calls on member cities in each country to take action.

For the realization of a nuclear-weapons-free world, we should share our ideas to proceed, little by little, towards reducing their number (says Erika Sumimoto, second- year student at Sagotani Junior High School). While doing that we need to seek agreement with others, moving step by step towards the abolition of nuclear weapons. For that purpose, it is important that we develop a deep understanding of those who oppose abolition, why they want to possess nuclear weapons, and what would persuade such people to relinquish them.

There have been a lot of news reports about suspected Iranian nuclear weapons development and North Korean nuclear disarmament talks. Please pay attention to those news reports and develop an interest in finding out whether negotiations can succeed or not, and why, and whether the negotiations are being conducted impartially or not.