This year commemorates the Japan’s surrender in the World War II, and at the same time, it is eighty years after the genocide by nuclear weapons, which represents the first use of this kind of arm by mankind. Rallies, called World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, will be held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki this year, too. Looking around the world, however, we face a bigger peril in which nuclear weapons might be used.
WORLD KEEPS SEEING MILITARY INVASIONS AND MENACE BY NUCLEAR WEAPONS
In Japan we have seen one more nuclear disaster following Hiroshima and Nagasaki; it was a radiation catastrophe against fishermen working in the area of the Bikini atoll in 1954 as the result of the experiment of a hydrogen bomb. After the incident social movements against atomic and hydrogen bombs rapidly overwhelmed across the country, and, in 1955, the first Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs was held. In the next year the Hidankyo=Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations was founded.
Arrogance by nuclear powers
Currently in the world, in total nine countries have approximately 13 thousand nuclear warheads. Ninety percent of them are possessed by the United States and Russia, and outside the NPT framework Israel, India, Pakistan and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have these arms. A possibility of usage is growing.
In the Cold War era the US and the USSR were crazy about competing to build up nuclear capabilities, and, in 1962, amid the Cuban Crisis they shifted to ‘controlling of nuclear arms.’ In the following year they reached an agreement, the Partial Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (PTBT), and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was concluded in 1968.
However, the PTBT does not prohibit underground tests. The movements against atomic and hydrogen bombs in Japan splits into two factions, between the Communist Party affiliation (Gensuikyo) on one hand and the Socialist Party-Sohyo bloc (Gensuikin) over these two pacts and the evaluation over nuclear tests conducted by the USSR.
The NPT allows the five countries to possess nuclear arms, which are the US, USSR, UK, France and China, admitting them a monopoly status. Meanwhile, nuclear powers have put priorities on developing effective abilities of the arms although they owe ‘obligations to sincerely negotiate’ in their efforts in nuclear disarmament.
Big powers reign nuclear arms
In 1972 the US and USSR settled the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I). Following that, in 1987, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force Treaty (INF) stipulated total removal of short-and-intermediate-range missiles. The two nations had dismantled in total 2692 units by the year 1991. The US, however, withdrew the treaty in 2019, accusing Russia of developing new types of missiles and China, which is not a party of the INF, of building up nuclear capabilities. Russia, which started military intrusion to Ukraine in 2022, employed a massive number of missiles and threatened by mentioning ‘use of nuclear arms.’
What are our tasks for abolishment of nuclear weapons?
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted in 2017 a treaty to comprehensively prohibit nuclear arms for the first time (took effective in 2021). In the same year an international NGO, ICAN, which had worked enthusiastically upon the above-said treaty, received an award Nobel Peace Prize in the same year and in 2024 the Hidankyo won the same prize.
Nevertheless, against the wishes of people who want to eliminate nuclear weapons, more nations have acquired nuclear arsenal and a trend ‘power is justice’, which includes nuclear weapons, prevails in the world. In the US-Japan military exercises they conduct an operation to ‘threaten by nuclear arms.’ In the recent Upper House election politicians encouraging nuclear armament gained the electorate’s support.
An enormous number of people and vast portion of land were polluted by radiation after explosions at the nuclear power station in Fukushima Prefecture more than a decade ago. But the government of Japan has shifted to a policy of maximum use of nuclear power to generate electricity.
The three organizations of the Hidankyo, the Gensuikin and the Gensuikyo released a joint statement against the policy change. But unifying movements is hard and far ahead. We have tremendous tasks.
今年は第２次大戦での日本の降伏から80年だが、人類初の核による大量虐殺から80年でもある。今年も広島と長崎で原水爆禁止世界大会が開かれるが、核をめぐる危険な動きは増大中だ。
日本では、広島、長崎の被爆に続き、54年にビキニ環礁での水爆実験で漁船員が被爆。原水爆禁止運動が全国に広がり、55年に第１回原水禁大会が開催。翌年に被団協（日本原水爆被害者団体協議会）が発足した。
核保有国の横暴
現在、世界では9カ国が約１万３千発の核兵器を保有。ロシアと米の２カ国がその９割を占め、ＮＰＴの枠外ではイスラエル、インド、パキスタン、朝鮮共和国も保有し、核使用の危険が増大中だ。
冷戦期に核戦力競争に熱中した米ソは62年キューバ危機で「核の管理」に転換。翌年、「部分的核実験禁止条約」（PＴＢＴ）、68年に「核拡散防止条約」（ＮＰＴ）が成立した。
だがＲＴＢＴでは地下核実験は許容。日本の原水禁運動はこれら条約やソ連の核実験の評価を巡り共産党系と社会党・総評系に分裂した。
ＮＰＴは、米ソ英仏中５カ国だけに核保有を認め、核の寡占を追認、だが核軍縮で「誠実に交渉する義務」を負った核保有国は、核の性能などを優先した。
大国の思惑で転変
72年の米ソ「戦略兵器制限」合意を経て、87年「中距離核戦力全廃条約」（ＩＮＦ）は、短・中距離ミサイルの全廃を明記、91年までに両国は計２６９２基を廃棄した。だが米国は、ロシアの新型ミサイル開発やＩＮＦ不参加の中国の核戦力増強を非難し19年に条約を破棄。22年にウクライナに侵攻したロシアはミサイルを大量使用、「核の使用」で威嚇。
核廃絶の課題は
国連総会は17年、核兵器を包括的に禁止する初の条約を採択（21年発効）、これを推進した国際ＮＧＯ「ＩＣＡＮ」が同年の、日本被団協が24年のノーベル平和賞を受賞した。
だが核廃絶の願いとは逆に、世界では核保有国が増え、核の威嚇を含む「力こそ正義」が横行。日米の演習では「核の脅し」が採用され、参院選では「核武装」を唱える政治家が支持された。福島原発の爆発でも無数の人と広大な土地が放射能で汚染されたが、政府は原発の最大限利用に転換。
被団協と原水禁、原水協の３団体は共同声明を発表したが運動の統一は遠く、課題は大きい。
「核は人類と共存できない」︱︱反核の闘いはなお続く。
英訳版↓
No. 1413 Eighty Years after Atomic Bombings
This year commemorates the Japan’s surrender in the World War II, and at the same time, it is eighty years after the genocide by nuclear weapons, which represents the first use of this kind of arm by mankind. Rallies, called World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, will be held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki this year, too. Looking around the world, however, we face a bigger peril in which nuclear weapons might be used.
WORLD KEEPS SEEING MILITARY INVASIONS AND MENACE BY NUCLEAR WEAPONS
In Japan we have seen one more nuclear disaster following Hiroshima and Nagasaki; it was a radiation catastrophe against fishermen working in the area of the Bikini atoll in 1954 as the result of the experiment of a hydrogen bomb. After the incident social movements against atomic and hydrogen bombs rapidly overwhelmed across the country, and, in 1955, the first Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs was held. In the next year the Hidankyo=Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations was founded.
Arrogance by nuclear powers
Currently in the world, in total nine countries have approximately 13 thousand nuclear warheads. Ninety percent of them are possessed by the United States and Russia, and outside the NPT framework Israel, India, Pakistan and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have these arms. A possibility of usage is growing.
In the Cold War era the US and the USSR were crazy about competing to build up nuclear capabilities, and, in 1962, amid the Cuban Crisis they shifted to ‘controlling of nuclear arms.’ In the following year they reached an agreement, the Partial Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (PTBT), and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was concluded in 1968.
However, the PTBT does not prohibit underground tests. The movements against atomic and hydrogen bombs in Japan splits into two factions, between the Communist Party affiliation (Gensuikyo) on one hand and the Socialist Party-Sohyo bloc (Gensuikin) over these two pacts and the evaluation over nuclear tests conducted by the USSR.
The NPT allows the five countries to possess nuclear arms, which are the US, USSR, UK, France and China, admitting them a monopoly status. Meanwhile, nuclear powers have put priorities on developing effective abilities of the arms although they owe ‘obligations to sincerely negotiate’ in their efforts in nuclear disarmament.
Big powers reign nuclear arms
In 1972 the US and USSR settled the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I). Following that, in 1987, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force Treaty (INF) stipulated total removal of short-and-intermediate-range missiles. The two nations had dismantled in total 2692 units by the year 1991. The US, however, withdrew the treaty in 2019, accusing Russia of developing new types of missiles and China, which is not a party of the INF, of building up nuclear capabilities. Russia, which started military intrusion to Ukraine in 2022, employed a massive number of missiles and threatened by mentioning ‘use of nuclear arms.’
What are our tasks for abolishment of nuclear weapons?
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted in 2017 a treaty to comprehensively prohibit nuclear arms for the first time (took effective in 2021). In the same year an international NGO, ICAN, which had worked enthusiastically upon the above-said treaty, received an award Nobel Peace Prize in the same year and in 2024 the Hidankyo won the same prize.
Nevertheless, against the wishes of people who want to eliminate nuclear weapons, more nations have acquired nuclear arsenal and a trend ‘power is justice’, which includes nuclear weapons, prevails in the world. In the US-Japan military exercises they conduct an operation to ‘threaten by nuclear arms.’ In the recent Upper House election politicians encouraging nuclear armament gained the electorate’s support.
An enormous number of people and vast portion of land were polluted by radiation after explosions at the nuclear power station in Fukushima Prefecture more than a decade ago. But the government of Japan has shifted to a policy of maximum use of nuclear power to generate electricity.
The three organizations of the Hidankyo, the Gensuikin and the Gensuikyo released a joint statement against the policy change. But unifying movements is hard and far ahead. We have tremendous tasks.
‘Nuclear & Humanity Can’t Coexist’ – anti-nuclear struggles continue.
August 6, 2025