Protest letter against the US nuclear test (May 23, 2011)

May 23, 2011

His Excellency Mr. Barack Obama
President
The United States of America

His Excellency Mr. John V. Roos
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the United States of America
Embassy of the United States of America in Japan

Letter of Protest

The City of Hiroshima has worked long and hard to help people around the world fully understand the pain and sorrow of our hibakusha experience. We believed that this information would help them develop the strong will required to abolish nuclear weapons. Despite our efforts, you announced this month that the U.S. conducted a new type of nuclear test last November and again this past March at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico.

Though these tests did not involve nuclear explosions, they can be understood as evidence that the U.S. intends to maintain its nuclear stockpile. Coupled with the fact that you revealed the testing only several months later, these tests have betrayed the hopes of the hibakusha and the millions of others who seek a nuclear-weapon-free world, while arousing suspicion regarding your intentions. Such actions are completely unacceptable, and on behalf of the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, I vehemently protest.

I urge you to thoroughly comprehend the experience of the survivors who witnessed the bombing, understand their sincere wish for peace, and strive for the earliest possible realization of a world free from nuclear weapons.

MATSUI Kazumi
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima