The Mayor of Hiroshima says No to Trident

11.08.45am GMT Tue 6th Feb 2007

Colin and Sean ringing the Peace Bell in Hiroshima

Ever since Hiroshima was attacked with nuclear weapons the Mayor of Hiroshima (regardless of incumbent) has, after any nuclear tests, written to the country involved to remind them of the destruction and why they should cease the tests. I recently contacted the current Mayor - Tadatoshi Akiba - and explained the the Liberal Democrats were discussing the renewal of Trident and asked if he could write to Ming outline his, and Hiroshima's views.

Below is his letter that he has copied to me, regardless of your current view please read what the Mayor has to say.

Dear Sir Campbell,

I was deeply moved and horrified by my visit last summer to Aldermaston, the only nuclear weapons manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom. I am writing now to convey a message from the A-bombed city Hiroshima.

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was reduced to a burnt plain by a single atomic bomb. By the end of that year, the bomb had taken 140,000 precious lives, and the effects of radiation have continued to cause terrible suffering for more than sixty years. The people of Hiroshima, who experienced the horror of the atomic bomb, overcame their pain and sorrow and rejected the path of revenge and animosity that leads to human extinction. The chose instead the path of reconciliation determined that, "No one else should ever suffer the way we did." All along, they have appealed for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of genuine world peace.

Hiroshima, along with the city of Nagasaki, launched the World Conference of Mayors for Peace in 1982 to arouse public demand for a peaceful world free from nuclear weapons. Calling to cities around the world, we now have 1,572 city members in 120 countries and regions.

Unfortunately, the nuclear weapons situation is moving in a direction quite opposite from our efforts. Far from working to eliminate nuclear weapons, England and other nuclear-weapon states are developing new "usable" nuclear weapons, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the only international agreement supporting nuclear abolition, is teetering on the brink of collapse.

My understanding is that Aldermaston has been the primary nuclear development base for England since its establishment in 1950. It has manufactured nuclear weapons with thousands of times more destructive power than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, and now, I understand it will spend vast sums in pursuit of new, highly offensive nuclear weapons.

However, the problems derived from nuclear weapons are becoming too obvious to ignore. Vast sums are invested every year in maintaining and dismantling warheads, controlling radioactive waste, and disposing of spent fuel. The radioactive waste is causing environmental contamination. These problems, as well as their immorality and obscene danger, have stimulated widespread debate over the plan to renovate Great Britain's strategic nuclear weapons. Led by NGOs and grassroots activists, the voices seeking to eliminate nuclear weapons will grow steadily louder as people become aware of the terrible consequences should the "war on terror" escalate to nuclear weapons.

In the name of Hiroshima, in the name of the human race, I call on the British government to immediately terminate all new development of nuclear weapons and begin destroying all existing nuclear weapons. I ask that the United Kingdom adhere conscientiously to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice declaring that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is illegal under international law, and live up to the promise clearly stated in the NPT of an unequivocal undertaking to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. I fervently hope that Great Britain will take the lead in making the 21st a genuinely peaceful century free from nuclear weapons.

Very sincerely yours,

Tadatoshi Akiba

Mayor

The City of Hiroshima

President

Mayors for Peace