Promoting Initiatives for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

(1) Holding atomic bomb exhibitions around the world

A-bomb exhibitions overseas

Since 1995, the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing, we have held A-bomb exhibitions overseas to communicate the realities of the atomic bombing and raise international opinion in support of nuclear abolition through artifacts, photo panels, and hibakusha testimonies. In FY2021, exhibitions were held in Sidney and Fremantle, Australia.

A-bomb exhibitions in Japan 

In order to communicate the realities of the atomic bombing and raise public opinion in support of nuclear abolition, we have held A-bomb exhibitions comprised of artifacts, photo panels, and hibakusha testimonies in Japan one to five times a year since 1996. In FY2019, exhibitions were held in Tokushima, Tottori, and Chiba.

A-bomb exhibitions during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games

Taking the opportunity of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games which attract many visitors, we held A-bomb exhibitions in Tokyo and Saitama in order to communicate the reality of the atomic bombing and raise public opinion in support of nuclear abolition.

Lending and providing materials for A-bomb exhibitions and peace studies in Japan and abroad＜外部リンク＞

We lend and provide materials including A-bomb photo posters/panels and documentary films to communicate the damages wrought by the atomic bombing and to raise awareness of peace both inside and outside of Japan.

(2) Support for establishing the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses

We call upon colleges and universities both inside and outside of Japan to establish Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses＜外部リンク＞ to convey the experiences of the atomic bombing and the hibakusha wish for peace to younger generations. These are courses that, by approaching the bombing through academic disciplines, teach the realities of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, the preciousness of peace, and more. We also support interested schools by sending lecturers and providing materials. 

(3) Training for domestic journalists

This is a training program that targets journalists for local papers. The program comprehensively and systematically covers topics such as damages caused by the atomic bombing, challenges for Hiroshima as an atomic bombed city, and the current global situation regarding nuclear weapons. Participants widely publish articles and editorials about atomic bomb-related topics. 

(4) Promoting peace through welcoming visitors

Pope Francis' visit to Hiroshima

On November 24, 2019 Pope Francis became the first Pontiff to visit Hiroshima in 38 years, following Pope John Paul II in 1981. The Pope laid flowers before the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and listened to testimonies from hibakusha firsthand to learn firsthand about the realities of the atomic bombing and the hibakusha wish for peace. He sent a message of peace to the world from Hiroshima, stating, "Here I pay homage to all the victims..." and "to remember, to journey together, to protect. These are three moral imperatives...”

US President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima＜外部リンク＞

On May 27, 2016, President Barack Obama of the United States became the first sitting US President to visit Hiroshima. Through visiting the Peace Memorial Museum and offering flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, we believe he understood the realities of the atomic bombing and hibakusha wish for peace. The president reaffirmed his commitment to work for the abolition of nuclear weapons by stating in his speech, “…among those nations like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles, we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them.”

G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Hiroshima

The G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting is one of the G7 Summit-related ministerial meetings where foreign ministers reflect on the latest trends in international politics. The outcomes of this meeting serve as the foundation for the following Summit. In 2016, Hiroshima hosted the Foreign Ministers' Meeting on April 10 and 11, prior to the G7 Ise-Shima Summit in May. We believe that the foreign ministers shared in our wishes for peace through visiting the Peace Memorial Museum and offering flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.

Hosting the United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues

In November 2017, we hosted the 27th UN Conference on Disarmament Issues, where government officials from nuclear powers and countries which promote the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as well as experts on disarmament issues, among others, discussed disarmament from various points of view. Prior to the conference, we also hosted the 1st meeting of the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament which was organized by the Japanese government.

(5) Protest against nuclear testing 

Since 1968, the City of Hiroshima has sent protest letters to countries which conduct nuclear tests . We also send letters of protest or request in response to various nuclear weapons issues.

(1) Activities by Mayors for Peace

In order to achieve a world in which all people can perpetually benefit from peace by realizing the total elimination of nuclear weapons and by attaining and maintaining peaceful coexistence between the whole of humanity, Mayors for Peace＜外部リンク＞ has adopted the Vision for Peaceful Transformation to a Sustainable World (PX Vision) and Mayors for Peace Action Plan (2021-2025) at the 12th Executive Conference in July 2021. Based on this vision, its member cities are implementing initiatives for a world without nuclear weapons, as outlined in the action plan.

Mayors for Peace has also carried out petition drives calling for all states to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the earliest date and has collected 3,120,000 signatures* so far. Of them, 120,000 signatures were submitted to Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs during the Third Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference in April 2019.

*The above number includes signatures collected through the petition drive calling for negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention, which Mayors for Peace has promoted since December 2010.

Moreover, every year since 2012 the Japanese member cities of Mayors for Peace have submitted a letter of request to the Japanese government calling for the promotion of actions to abolish nuclear weapons.

(2) The 10th Mayors for Peace General Conference

Mayors for Peace holds a general conference every four years for its member cities to gather to make a final resolution of approval on important issues for the abolition of nuclear weapons and lasting world peace.

The 10th general conference was to be held in Hiroshima in August 2021, however, given the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now scheduled to be convened in August 2022, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Mayors for Peace.    

(3) Mayors for Peace internship program

We invite young officials from overseas member cities to work at the Mayors for Peace Secretariat in Hiroshima. It is expected that interns will assist international outreach efforts by the secretariat, and after returning home, will expand the scope of their cities’ activities toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.

On the occasion of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) this year, we held an online peace culture seminar about the TPNW in May 2021 to encourage the citizens to think about peace and take actions in their daily lives to promote peace culture.

The mayor of Hiroshima delivers a Peace Declaration at the Peace Memorial Ceremony every year on August 6 to convey to the world the Will of Hiroshima, which calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons. To disseminate the declaration, the Japanese original and the English translation are sent to various entities including all foreign embassies in Japan, the permanent mission of each country to the United Nations and the member cities of Mayors for Peace. In addition to the English version, the declaration is translated into nine different languages and disseminated widely via the Internet and other means.

Every year, we hold the International Symposium for Peace with the participation of nuclear issues experts in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, alternatively, in order to raise citizens awareness of peace. In FY2021, an online symposium was held in Hiroshima. 

Since 1983, we have been hosting participants of the UN Disarmament Fellowship program＜外部リンク＞, which educates diplomats to become disarmament specialists. We provide them with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the damage wrought by the atomic bombing.

We provide young people from Mayors for Peace member cities both inside and outside Japan with opportunities to visit Hiroshima for peace-related experiences and exchange activities. Through this program we aim to cultivate human resources conducive to a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons as well as to build a stronger network among member cities.

We invite tour guides and concerned officials from United Nations facilities which house permanent A-bomb exhibitions for a training session to learn about the realities of the atomic bombing.

In order to foster future leaders, who will contribute to the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of world peace, we dispatch high school students who are engaged in peace activities to the NPT Review Conferences and its preparatory committees, where they learn about the international affairs regarding nuclear weapons, communicate the message of Hiroshima, and appeal for peace.