The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Wednesday protested an overnight U.S. subcritical nuclear test, while antinuclear organizations staged protest rallies in Tokyo.
Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito were sending letters of protest to President George W. Bush and Ambassador Howard Baker. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated by atomic bombs dropped by the United States in August 1945.
The Mayors for Peace, an association of 603 cities worldwide, sent a similar letter to Bush in the names of Akiba and Ito. Hiroshima Prefectural Gov. Yuzan Ito also sent a letter of protest.
"I am outraged by this test and on behalf of the people of Hiroshima I hereby vehemently protest," Akiba wrote in his publicly released letter to Bush.
Pointing out that the U.S. is conducting subcritical nuclear tests while demanding that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons programs, Akiba said, "Obviously, you are applying a self-serving double standard based on the rule of power.
"I demand that you immediately ratify the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty), terminate all nuclear testing, including subcritical tests, and take the lead in carrying out a clear path toward the total abolition of nuclear weapons."