Peace Declaration (1952)

No time passes in vain. For seven years now we have been conscious of the terrible scars inflicted on our minds by the atomic disaster. We can not but shudder at the tragedy that human fallibility can cause.

Yet we affirm our faith in human goodwill and generosity.

We believe that there will be found a way which may be accepted in common by the people of the world, not degrading human dignity, but giving a dignity to human existence.

We must light a torch of love in one person's mind, so that it may pass to two people, and when the torch is lit as a sacred flame in the minds of all people, the world will surely be united in a circle of moral consciousness.

We offer a sincere pledge before the souls of the victims of the A-bomb, that we reflect in simplicity on the past, that we recognize our duty, and that we will carry it into practice, as responsible individuals and citizens of Hiroshima.

August 6, 1952

Shinzo Hamai
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima