Request letter appealing for the bill which designate sites involved in the Manhattan Project as a National Historical Park (December 17, 2014)

December 17, 2014

Her Excellency Ms. Caroline Kennedy
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the United States of America
Embassy of the United States of America in Japan

Letter of Request

We learned from a press report that both houses of the United States Congress have passed a bill to designate several sites as a national historical park. These sites were involved in the Manhattan Project, under which atomic bombs were developed during World War II.

In the past, we have expressed our citizens’ profound concern regarding this designation, as well as our fear that it may convey an erroneous message to future generations. Furthermore, we requested that your actions regarding this issue be based in a full understanding of the damage wrought by the atomic bombings.

It has been reported that during discussions on the bill, the National Park Service in charge of the proposed historical park stated that it is committed to a balanced historic interpretation which recognizes diverse perspectives. In order for your government to fulfill this commitment, I strongly urge you to earnestly consider the damage that Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered in all future deliberations about the development of the park. We are more than happy to provide A-bomb artifacts, photos and panels to help you do so.

You kindly attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony this August. I would like you to recall once again the bitter, painful experiences of our survivors and their desire for peace, which you must have felt keenly in our city, where the memory of the bombing still lingers. I demand that all of your government’s actions on nuclear weapons issues, including deliberations on how to develop the historical park, fully acknowledge the terrible reality of the bombings and the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons, and I ask you to communicate this to your government.

MATSUI Kazumi
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima