On 6 August 2022, the Mayor of Hiroshima’s Peace Declaration was delivered at the Memorial Ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Park. It came after the sounding of the peace bell at 8.15 a.m., the exact time when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. The Declaration was followed by the release of the peace doves. It was delivered by Matsui Kazumi, the Mayor of Hiroshima, in the presence of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guturres, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida.
Hiroshima Prayer Service – Peace Declaration by the Mayor of Hiroshima
Introduction: We begin this prayer service with an edited version of the Mayor of Hiroshima’s Peace Declaration made at the Memorial Ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Park exactly a year ago (6 August 2022). It came after the sounding of the peace bell at 8.15 a.m., the exact time when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. The Declaration was followed by the release of the peace doves. It was delivered by Matsui Kazumi, the Mayor of Hiroshima, in the presence of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guturres, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida:
Peace Declaration: ”I adored my mother; she raised me with such kindness and care”. The woman speaking was 16 when she left home carrying the lunch her mother had lovingly prepared. She never imagined it would be their final parting. Summer, 78 years ago. That morning, without warning, the first nuclear weapon was dropped and detonated over humanity. Standing near Hiroshima Station, the girl saw a terrifying flash. Then came a thunderous roar. Striking near Hiroshima Station, the blast blew her through the air and knocked her unconscious. When she came to, she wandered through the smouldering city, searching for her mother. She saw a horrifying number of blackened bodies. One charred corpse still stood, clinging to the neck of a cow. Bodies floating in the river drifted up and down with the tide. She still remembers the morning when everyday life vanished violently into scenes from hell.
In invading Ukraine, the Russian leader, elected to protect the lives and property of his people, is using them as instruments of war, stealing the lives and livelihoods of innocent civilians in another country. Around the world, the notion that peace depends on nuclear deterrence gains momentum. These errors betray humanity’s determination, born of our experience of war, to achieve a peaceful world free from nuclear weapons. To accept the status quo and abandon the ideal of peace maintained without military force is to threaten the very survival of the human race. We must stop repeating these mistakes. Above all, entrusting a nuclear button to any world leader is to sanction continued nuclear threats to humanity and potential re-creation of the hellscape of August 6th, 1945. We must immediately render all nuclear buttons meaningless.
Early last year, the five nuclear-weapon states issued a joint statement: “Nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. They further declared their intent to “… remain committed to our Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) obligations.” Having issued such a statement, why do they not attempt to fulfil their promises? Why do some even hint at using nuclear weapons? The nuclear powers must now act to build bridges of trust among nations. Rather than treating a world without nuclear weapons like a distant dream among nations, they should be taking concrete steps towards its realization. I call on the leaders of the nuclear-weapon states to visit the atomic-bombed cities where they can personally encounter the consequences of using nuclear weapons and strengthen their will to take these steps. I want them to understand that the only sure way to protect their lives and property is to eliminate nuclear weapons. I fervently hope that the leaders who attended the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in 2022 have reached this conclusion.
With the hibakusha’s (survivors) will to peace at our core, and inheriting the ‘never-give-up’ spirit of hibakusha leader, Tsuban Sunan, who dedicated his life to the cause. Hiroshima will continue striding towards nuclear weapons abolition, however arduous the path.
Mayors for Peace, now a network of 8,200 peace cities around the world, will hold its 10th General Conference in Hiroshima this year. That conference will work toward a civil society in which each and every citizen shares the conviction that happy lives require an end to war, an end to armed conflict and an end to life-threatening social discrimination. In that pursuit, we will intensify cooperation among our peace-minded member cities to promote a ‘culture of peace’ that rejects all forms of violence. Mayors for Peace encourages policymakers to pursue foreign policies through dialogue without relying on nuclear deterrence.
The average age of the hibakusha now exceeds 84, and their lives are still impaired by radiation’s adverse effects on their minds and bodies. This I further demand that the Japanese government empathize with their suffering to better offer them enhanced support measures.
Today at this Peace Memorial Ceremony, we offer heartfelt condolences to the souls of the atomic bomb victims. Together with Nagasaki and likeminded people around the world, we pledge to do everything in our power to abolish nuclear weapons and light the way toward lasting world peace.
Download the Peace Declaration by the Mayor of Hiroshima
