すばらしく論理的、積極的、斬新なアイディア、決して妥協しない、何者をも恐れない、実に”はっきり”、”ズバリ”と言う。望月衣塑子さんよりすごいかもしれない。勇気があり、迫力があり、明るいすばらしい女性だ。
今、日本各地で影響力を広げている。Abe は「日程の都合」とか理由をつけて会わないようで、Fihnさんにズバリ「世界から見放される危険を冒している」と指摘した！ここまではっきり言う人・団体が今の日本にはあまりいない、少ないのがとても残念だ。
「核抑止力の効果を言う人がいるが、北朝鮮の現実を見れば「抑止力」の考えが間違っていることがハッキリする。核は廃絶するしかないのだ」と。また、「核兵器使用禁止は日本政府が決めるものではない、日本の国民が決めるものだ」とも！その通りだ、すばらしい。
On Twitter: It was really special to visit the memorial sites of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So much suffering and pain, yet today these are two cities of hope, devoted to working for nuclear disarmament. They are an inspiration to all of us.
ICAN leader Fihn urges Japan to act as leader in movement to abolish nuclear weapons
(Mainichi Japan)
ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn speaks during a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Jan. 16, 2018. (Mainichi)
Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), said on Jan. 16 that Japan can play a leading role in the movement toward the abolishment of nuclear weapons as the only country to be attacked with atomic bombs.
Fihn, who arrived in Japan on Jan. 12 and visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the first time, held a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Jan. 16. She told the press conference that she felt a large gap between the values held by the two atomic-bombed cities and the policies taken by the Japanese government. She pressed that Japan must act on the issue and said she hoped that its citizens demand the government take action, as she once again requested the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to join the nuclear weapons ban treaty at an early date.
Prior to the Jan. 16 news conference, the leader of the international civil society coalition held a public debate with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahisa Sato as well as members of the Diet including leaders of both ruling and opposition parties.
Fihn was earlier denied a meeting with Abe during her visit to Japan. When asked about not being able to meet the Japanese prime minister, she said that her group was “disappointed” but also pointed out that she had an opportunity to talk with representatives of the Japanese government. Fihn then added that she was “looking forward to meeting him (Abe)” next time.
She also said she wants to tell Abe to honor A-bomb survivors, or hibakusha, and ask him to sign the nuclear weapons ban treaty, which was adopted at the United Nations last summer.
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A-bomb survivors question denial of ICAN leader’s request for meeting with Abe
(Mainichi Japan)
Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the international nongovernmental organization that won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, was denied a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during her current visit to Japan in spite of her request for one, on the grounds of scheduling difficulties.
ICAN was instrumental in the adoption of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Japan has not signed this treaty, but even so, calls have arisen from within Japan, the only country to have been attacked with nuclear weapons in warfare, for the prime minister to meet and talk with the ICAN leader.
Prime Minister Abe is scheduled to return from a trip to Eastern Europe on Jan. 17. Fihn arrived in Japan on Jan. 12, is staying in Tokyo on Jan. 16 and 17, and will leave Japan on Jan. 18. Speaking to reporters after a tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima on Jan. 15, she expressed disappointment that she had been denied a chance to meet Prime Minister Abe even though she had been able to meet the leaders of other countries. She noted that Japan, in particular, had been subjected to A-bomb attacks in the past, and said she was keen to talk with the prime minister and figures in the Japanese government. Fihn added she looks forward to a meeting at the next opportunity.
The same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a news conference that denial of the meeting came down to “the fact that it was difficult in terms of schedules, nothing more, nothing less.”
ICAN had sent the Cabinet Office two written requests since December last year asking for a meeting between Fihn and the prime minister during her stay in Tokyo. Abe has met Nobel laureates from abroad in the past, including economists Paul Krugman in 2014, Robert Merton in 2015, and Joseph Stiglitz in 2016.
The U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons bans the use, development, testing, production, stationing and stockpiling of nuclear weapons, as well as the threat of their use — the basis of nuclear deterrence. The accord was adopted in the United Nations in July last year with the majority approval of 122 countries. However, Japan, which is under the protection of the U.S. “nuclear umbrella,” did not take part in treaty negotiations.
Fumiko Nishizaki, a professor at the University of Tokyo versed in diplomatic history, commented, “The Japanese government has stressed that its final goal is the elimination of nuclear weapons, and it would be normal to respond to a Nobel laureate with respect. Adopting the stance of listening to an organization with conflicting views would have raised the profile of the administration, so this is a regrettable decision.”
Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Mimaki, 75, representative director of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), voiced distrust toward the government. “I’m disappointed in the prime minister,” he said. “Does the government really think that being under the ‘nuclear umbrella’ is the best thing?”
Koichi Kawano, 78, chairman of the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs, commented, “I guess that the prime minister can’t confidently give a reason for not participating in the treaty. As an A-bombed country, Japan should be offering a congratulatory message for (ICAN’s winning of) the Nobel Peace Prize, but instead it’s fleeing without any message.”
Masao Tomonaga, 74, honorary director of The Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Genbaku Hospital, commented, “If scheduling is the issue, then it can’t be helped, but the important thing is whether the government accepts Ms. Fihn’s message or not.”
Both Kawano and Tomonaga are survivors of the Nagasaki atomic bombing.
NHK News
