Nagasaki mayor urges leaders to achieve nuclear-free world

Tomihisa Taue, the Mayor of Nagasaki, has urged the International community to draw upon its “collective wisdom” to free the world of nuclear weapons as the city marked the 71st anniversary of its atomic bombing by the U.S.

Taue made the call on Tuesday in his Peace Declaration delivered at the annual ceremony of the 71st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

The mayor who spoke at the commemoration attended by representatives from 53 countries, the United Nations and the European Union, also called for new frameworks aimed at containing nuclear proliferation which according to him, were necessary if mankind was to be prevented from destroying its future.

“Now is the time for all of you to bring together as much of your collective wisdom as you possibly can, and act so that we do not destroy the future of mankind.

“World leaders need to create a world devoid of nuclear weapons to foster love and unity,’’ he said.

He criticised Japan’s central government for depending on the U.S. for nuclear deterrence while advocating nuclear weapons abolition.

He said that in order to overcome the contradictory state of affairs, Tokyo should enshrine into law its three non-nuclear principles of not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on Japanese territory, which are non-binding now.

Taue recalled that the bombing of Nagasaki claimed the lives of 74,000 people and came three days after the first atomic bomb dropped by the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay was detonated over the western city of Hiroshima.

“The number of atomic bombing survivors stood at 174,080 as at March and their average age was nearly 81 years, the government said.

“Many of them have long suffered from the after-effects of radiation,’’ he said.

The mayor noted the significance of U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Hiroshima in May, saying through the visit, Obama exhibited to the world “the importance of seeing, listening and feeling things for oneself.

Taue called on the leaders of all countries to visit the two cities to see the reality of atomic bombings.

“Knowing the facts becomes the starting point for thinking about a future free of nuclear weapons,” he said.