Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)

The 61st anniversary of the atomic bombing !

Abolish Nuclear Weapons: 2006 Peace Hiroshima Convention

On August 4th, in commemoration of the 61st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan, RENGO together with GENSUIKIN (Japan Congress against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs) and KAKKIN (National Council for Peace and Against Nuclear Weapons), co-hosted the "Abolish Nuclear Weapons: 2006 Peace Hiroshima Convention" in Hiroshima city with approximately 6600 attendees including RENGO union members on hand.
RENGO President Takagi declared his determination in a speech on behalf of organizers where he said, "We three organizations convey our sincere condolences to all of the people who lost their lives due to the atomic bombing. We renew our pledges to repose their souls and never to fight another war and will push forward with our activities to abolish nuclear weapons and create lasting world peace."
Afterwards, there were guest speeches from Hiroshima Prefecture Governor Yuzan Fujita and Hiroshima City Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and the Convention adopted a "Peace Appeal from Hiroshima" which is a pledge to "work for the abolishment of nuclear weapons, a total ban on all nuclear testing, and increased support for hibakusha or atomic bomb victims." The Convention also adopted an urgent appeal to support a ruling by the Hiroshima District Court that same day on a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs seeking for certification of atomic bomb-related illness victims. The appeal "call[s] on the central government and the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry to take this ruling with utmost seriousness and not appeal to a higher court but rather improve the current certification system so that it may verify individual victims of atomic bomb-related illnesses, actively assist atomic-bomb survivors, and withdraw its appeal against a sentence by the Osaka District Court (which handed down a similar decision in favor of the plaintiffs)."

On August 5th, these three organizations of RENGO, GENSUIKIN, and KAKKIN co-organized a peace symposium with a panel discussion entitled "Toward Realization of Denuclearization in Northeast Asia" by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arms Control and Disarmament Division Director Kiyoshi Serizawa and representatives from all three organizations. RENGO also conducted a Peace Seminar and a Peace Walk, as well as a visit to the Peace Memorial Park. On the 6th, President Takagi and other RENGO delegates attended the Hiroshima City Peace Memorial Ceremony.