Following Republican candidate Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, leaders from prominent Japanese advocacy groups — one set representing atomic bomb survivors and the other representing families of citizens abducted by North Korea — voiced uncertainty over the direction of U.S. policy and stressed the importance of continuing their missions for peace.
Nihon Hidankyo, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization of hibakusha, reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear abolition. “While the future direction of the United States is unclear, our commitment to conveying our message of ‘No more Hibakusha’ and nuclear abolition to the world remains unchanged,” said Assistant Secretary-General Jiro Hamasumi, 78. “No matter who becomes president, Hidankyo will continue its appeal as it always has.”
Toshiyuki Mimaki, 82, director of Hiroshima Hidankyo who also serves as a co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “We don’t know the direction America will take, but as survivors, we hope they strive for a world free of nuclear weapons.”
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