Photo/Illutration Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, speaks at a public hearing of the Budget Committee of the Lower House on Feb. 25. (Takeshi Iwashita)

The co-chairman of a Nobel laureate organization of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors strongly criticized the Japanese government's decision to not attend an anti-nuclear weapons meeting in March. 

Terumi Tanaka, 92, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), expressed anger at a public hearing of the Budget Committee of the Lower House on Feb. 25.

“It is pathetic and disappointing,” Tanaka said regarding the government’s decision not to participate in the third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as an observer state.

Tanaka mentioned that Japan has neither ratified the treaty nor participated in the previous meetings as an observer state, even though the nation calls itself “the only nation to have been exposed to atomic bombings in war.”

He went on to say that Japan should share its experiences in providing support for atomic bomb victims at the international meeting.

“It is the Japanese government that can make the strongest argument,” Tanaka said, showing his frustration. “I want it to fulfil its role. It’s truly pathetic.”

He also pointed out that the “endurance doctrine” in effect during wartime has been wrong. The doctrine mandates that all citizens must equally endure the destruction caused during a national emergency.

“There have been no discussions in the Diet so far on how to deal with the destruction suffered by people in this country,” Tanaka said. “It is definitely wrong to force citizens to endure destruction for the sake of national defense.”

This marks the third consecutive time that the Japanese government has not participated in the TPNW meetings.

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya officially announced on Feb. 18 that the Japanese government will not attend the meeting, which will be held at the United Nations in New York from March 3-7. 

At that time, Iwaya emphasized the necessity of nuclear deterrence for Japan.

“The TPNW is incompatible with nuclear deterrence,” he said. “If our country attends the meeting as an observer nation, it could send the wrong message about our country’s nuclear deterrence policy and cause problems in securing peace and security.”

Nihon Hidankyo received the Nobel Peace Prize last year for its efforts to promote understanding of the reality of nuclear weapons.

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