By GAKUSHI FUJIWARA/ Correspondent
August 2, 2022 at 18:19 JST
Setsuko Thurlow meets with reporters on Aug. 1 after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference in New York. (Gakushi Fujiwara)
NEW YORK--A highly respected atomic bomb survivor who campaigned on behalf of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was blistering in her criticism of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for not mentioning that accord during a speech he gave here Aug. 1.
Kishida was visiting to address the review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty being held at the U.N. headquarters through Aug. 26. His visit is significant because he was the first Japanese leader to do so.
However, he said nothing about the TPNW, which came as a huge surprise to Hiroshima-born Setsuko Thurlow, 90, because Kishida is a native of Hiroshima and represents a Lower House district that covers the central part of the city.
Hiroshima became the first city in the world to be leveled by an atomic bomb in 1945.
Thurlow, who lived in Hiroshima during the war and now resides in Canada, was at the U.N. headquarters in New York for the start of the NPT review conference.
“He did not say a single word (about the TPNW),” she said. “He intentionally ignored it because he believes it is unrealistic.”
Thurlow said Kishida’s speech laid out “pretty ideals and beautiful words,” but left out the most important thing.
When the TPNW took effect in January 2021, Thurlow recalled: “I thought finally a movement had spread to think seriously about eliminating nuclear weapons. I began feeling that just maybe my dream might come true before I died.”
Although delighted and “proud” that Kishida had the gumption to address the NPT review conference, she was not forgiving over his failure to mention the TPNW.
Referring to threats by Russia to use nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, Thurlow said, “Something that I was always worried about became a clear possibility.”
“That,” she added, “showed us in a vivid manner the need for nuclear disarmament.”
Yet, Thurlow said she thought Kishida has the potential for greatness and suggested he further study the issue more seriously.
“He probably thinks that we are being pesky by what we say,” Thurlow said. “But I intend to carry on until the very end.”
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