Nagasaki marks 73 years since US’ dropping of atomic bomb
UN chief concerned over existing nuclear states that are modernising their arsenals
Nagasaki marked the anniversary of the world’s second atomic bombing yesterday with the United Nations’ chief and the city’s mayor urging global leaders to take concrete steps towards world nuclear disarmament.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the first United Nations chief to visit Nagasaki, said fears of nuclear war are still present 73 years after the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings and that they should never be repeated. He raised concerns about the slowing effort to denuclearise, saying existing nuclear states are modernising their arsenals.
“Disarmament processes have slowed and even come to a halt,” Guterres told the audience at the Nagasaki peace park. “Here in Nagasaki, I call on all countries to commit to nuclear disarmament and to start making visible progress as a matter of urgency.” Then he added: “Let us all commit to making Nagasaki the last place on earth to suffer nuclear devastation.”
The peace and nuclear disarmament movement, started by survivors of the atomic bombings, has spread around the world but frustration over the slow progress led to last year’s adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Japan, despite being the only country in the world to have suffered nuclear attacks, has not signed the treaty, because of its sensitive position as an US ally protected by its nuclear umbrella. Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue urged Japan’s government to do more to lead nuclear disarmament, especially in the region to help advance the efforts to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.