Arab News Japan

TOKYO: At a symposium hosted by Musashi University in Tokyo on Thursday, Michiko Kodama, the representative of the atomic bomb survivors, known in Japan as “the Hibakushas,” called on the Japanese government to ratify the Treaty of Abolition of Atomic Weapons.

The event was part of the Ekoda Film Festival featuring the bombing of Hiroshima and the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

At the event, the Secretary of the Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Victims’ Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) expressed concern that nuclear war was looming as North Korea carried out missile tests believed to be able to carry nuclear heads. They also showed disappointment over Australia’s joining the nuclear-armed nations through the agreement reached last week with the USA and UK to equip itself with nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Kodama reiterated in her remarks that Japan needs to adopt the atomic weapons abolition treaty despite the uncertain strategic environment. She expressed appreciation that entered into force. She said the Hibakushas are now known worldwide.

Kodama, who at 82, is a living witness to nuclear war and its aftermath, has passed on her legacy to students at Musashi University, some of whom are actively involved in disarmament and the prohibition of nuclear weapons.

During the symposium, Kodama praised the students’ efforts, saying that civil society can exert pressure on political powers so that Japan, the only country that was bombed by two atomic weapons during the war, ratified the treaty. She stressed that students should use their ballots to make it happen.