Media Release
Monday October 25, 2010
Japanese Citizens Send Letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Opposing Nuclear Cooperation
Japanese citizens expressed their opposition to nuclear cooperation between Japan and India in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Singh, which was sent today to the Indian Embassy in Tokyo. The letter was endorsed by over 50 people, including Hibakusha and other people from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and leaders of major nuclear abolition groups.
Click here to read the letter and see the list of signatories.
Prime Minister Singh, who is currently visiting Japan, is expected to discuss a proposed bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement when he meets Japanese Government ministers. The Japanese Government reversed a decades-old policy of not engaging in nuclear cooperation with non-NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) member states when it began negotiations with India on a bilateral agreement at the end of June this year.
The letter explains the feelings of the Hibakusha (survivors of the atomic bombings) and why there is so much opposition in Japan, in particular from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to nuclear cooperation between Japan and India. It states, "Based on the experiences of the Hibakusha we can unequivocally affirm that nuclear weapons and human beings cannot coexist."
Finally, the letter calls on India to follow the lead of Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Ghandi and stand in the forefront of moves for nuclear abolition.
Since the possibility of nuclear cooperation between Japan and India was first raised in April this year, there has been strong opposition from Japanese civil society and sections of the Japanese media.
Contacts
Masayoshi Naito (Japanese only)
Board Member, Japan Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms
Phone: +81-3-5283-7799
Philip White (English and Japanese)
International Liaison Officer, Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
Akebonobashi Co-op 2F-B, 8-5 Sumiyoshi-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0065, Japan
Phone: +81-3-3357-3800
