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A large majority of the survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki believe Japan should join a U.N. treaty to ban nuclear weapons, according to a Kyodo News poll, underscoring discontent with the government's opposition to the agreement.

The poll, released on Saturday ahead of the 73rd anniversary of the bombings next month, also showed that more than 60 percent of the survivors do not discuss their experiences due to old age or reluctance to recall the tragedy.

The issue of passing on the memory of the 1945 bombings has become more urgent, with those who witnessed the horrors firsthand declining in numbers. The world's first nuclear attack on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki three days later resulted in the deaths of an estimated 214,000 people by the end of that year.

In response to the questionnaire survey sent to about 6,000 survivors nationwide in June, which received valid responses from 1,450 people, 80.8 percent urged the Japanese government to sign the landmark treaty, citing Japan's unique position as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings.

In July last year, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved, with a reference to the "unacceptable suffering" of victims of the atomic bombings. The global accord had the support of 122 countries.

However, it was not backed by any of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- all nuclear powers. Japan, which relies on U.S. nuclear deterrence for its security, also did not sign it.

One of the respondents, a 76-year-old man, said the government's position "ignores the atomic bomb victims' years of efforts" to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

While 80.2 percent welcomed the treaty, 4.8 percent said otherwise, with many skeptical about its effectiveness given the absence of nuclear weapons states including the United States.

More than seven decades on, 950 survivors, or 65.4 percent, stated they do not discuss the bombings, with a 92-year-old man saying, "I do not want to remember the hell I saw that day, that moment."

Among the 440 survivors who said they do discuss the bombings, a majority expressed concern that their efforts to convey their experience to younger generations could be halted by failing health.

Tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons program have been easing in the wake of the historic inter-Korean summit in April and 35.4 percent of the respondents said they were hopeful that the goal set at the summit of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula would be achieved.

Full ARticle: https://japantoday.com/category/national/majority-of-a-bomb-survivors-want-japan-to-join-nuke-ban-treaty



The more things change, the more they stay the same.
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^ Hey now that's completely unfair.
https://imgtc.com/i/14JHfrt.jpg