Latest news with #U.N.TreatyontheProhibitionofNuclearWeapons
The Mainichi
01-07-2025
- General
- The Mainichi
Anti-nuke group ICAN honors children killed by WWII A-bombs
GENEVA (Kyodo) -- A Nobel Peace Prize-winning nongovernmental organization launched an online memorial Tuesday for children who died in the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the attacks in the closing days of World War II. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said, quoting authorities of the Japanese cities, that an estimated 38,000 children were killed in the bombings on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9 of 1945. The new platform, called the Children's Peace Memorial, provides profiles of 426 such children "to remind the world of the horrific impacts of nuclear weapons," and encourages visitors to make paper cranes and send them to countries that have not yet joined the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Geneva-based organization said the memorial highlights the urgency of universal adherence to the treaty, which entered into force in 2021, but has not been joined yet by many countries such as Japan. One of the 426 victims is Yasuyoshi Amano from Hiroshima, who was inside his junior high school building, located some 900 meters from ground zero, at the time of the attack. The 13-year-old suffered several injuries, especially a "gaping wound under his ear that bled profusely," the website said. Two days after the bombing, his mother and grandmother realized they could not save him. ICAN has stressed the urgency of preserving the testimony of atomic-bombing survivors, or hibakusha, noting that their average age is 86. "We must eliminate nuclear weapons before they eliminate us," it has said. The atomic bombs that exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed an estimated 140,000 and 74,000 people, respectively, by the end of 1945, according to the cities.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Japan won't join UN meeting on nuclear weapons ban, citing support for US deterrence
TOKYO (AP) — Japan will not attend a U.N. conference on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, a top government official in Tokyo said Monday, noting U.S. nuclear deterrence is crucial to the country's security and that its participation would send the 'wrong message." Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan's national security is the primary reason it will not participate as an observer at the conference, which starts Monday in New York. 'Under the severe security environment, nuclear deterrence is indispensable to defend the people's lives and assets, as well as Japan's sovereignty and peace,' Hayashi told reporters. Japan's participation as an observer at the conference would 'send a wrong message about the Japanese policy (supporting) nuclear deterrence and interfere with our effort in security, peace and safety.' See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved in 2017 and went into force in 2021 following a decades-long campaign aimed at preventing a repeat of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Japan, despite being the only victim of the nuclear attacks, has refused to sign the treaty, saying its goal is not feasible without the participation of any of the nuclear weapons states. Hayashi said participating as an observer would also interfere with Japan's ongoing effort to gain support for strengthening the non-proliferation treaty and hinder nuclear disarmament. He did not give further details about Japan's next steps. Japanese officials have said they share the ultimate goal of achieving a nuclear-free world but that Japan needs to be realistic amid growing global conflicts. Atomic bombing survivors and their supporters have criticized Japan's government for making a hollow promise while clinging to the U.S. nuclear umbrella. The survivors and their supporters have urged the Japanese government to participate in the conference as an observer amid growing global attention after Nihon Hidankyo, the atomic bombing survivors' grassroots organization, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is a defense expert and vocal supporter of nuclear deterrence who has called for a more open debate about the role of U.S. extended deterrence in the region. Japan has also expressed more openly its desire to ensure 'extended deterrence' by U.S. nuclear weapons in recent years amid growing tensions with China.
The Independent
03-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Japan won't join UN meeting on nuclear weapons ban, citing support for US deterrence
Japan will not attend a U.N. conference on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, a top government official in Tokyo said Monday, noting U.S. nuclear deterrence is crucial to the country's security and that its participation would send the 'wrong message." Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan's national security is the primary reason it will not participate as an observer at the conference, which starts Monday in New York. 'Under the severe security environment, nuclear deterrence is indispensable to defend the people's lives and assets, as well as Japan's sovereignty and peace,' Hayashi told reporters. Japan's participation as an observer at the conference would 'send a wrong message about the Japanese policy (supporting) nuclear deterrence and interfere with our effort in security, peace and safety.' The U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved in 2017 and went into force in 2021 following a decades-long campaign aimed at preventing a repeat of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Japan, despite being the only victim of the nuclear attacks, has refused to sign the treaty, saying its goal is not feasible without the participation of any of the nuclear weapons states. Hayashi said participating as an observer would also interfere with Japan's ongoing effort to gain support for strengthening the non-proliferation treaty and hinder nuclear disarmament. He did not give further details about Japan's next steps. Japanese officials have said they share the ultimate goal of achieving a nuclear-free world but that Japan needs to be realistic amid growing global conflicts. Atomic bombing survivors and their supporters have criticized Japan's government for making a hollow promise while clinging to the U.S. nuclear umbrella. The survivors and their supporters have urged the Japanese government to participate in the conference as an observer amid growing global attention after Nihon Hidankyo, the atomic bombing survivors' grassroots organization, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is a defense expert and vocal supporter of nuclear deterrence who has called for a more open debate about the role of U.S. extended deterrence in the region. Japan has also expressed more openly its desire to ensure 'extended deterrence' by U.S. nuclear weapons in recent years amid growing tensions with China.
Associated Press
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Japan won't join UN meeting on nuclear weapons ban, citing support for US deterrence
TOKYO (AP) — Japan will not attend a U.N. conference on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, a top government official in Tokyo said Monday, noting U.S. nuclear deterrence is crucial to the country's security and that its participation would send the 'wrong message.' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan's national security is the primary reason it will not participate as an observer at the conference, which starts Monday in New York. 'Under the severe security environment, nuclear deterrence is indispensable to defend the people's lives and assets, as well as Japan's sovereignty and peace,' Hayashi told reporters. Japan's participation as an observer at the conference would 'send a wrong message about the Japanese policy (supporting) nuclear deterrence and interfere with our effort in security, peace and safety.' The U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved in 2017 and went into force in 2021 following a decades-long campaign aimed at preventing a repeat of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Japan, despite being the only victim of the nuclear attacks, has refused to sign the treaty, saying its goal is not feasible without the participation of any of the nuclear weapons states. Hayashi said participating as an observer would also interfere with Japan's ongoing effort to gain support for strengthening the non-proliferation treaty and hinder nuclear disarmament. He did not give further details about Japan's next steps. Japanese officials have said they share the ultimate goal of achieving a nuclear-free world but that Japan needs to be realistic amid growing global conflicts. Atomic bombing survivors and their supporters have criticized Japan's government for making a hollow promise while clinging to the U.S. nuclear umbrella. The survivors and their supporters have urged the Japanese government to participate in the conference as an observer amid growing global attention after Nihon Hidankyo, the atomic bombing survivors' grassroots organization, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is a defense expert and vocal supporter of nuclear deterrence who has called for a more open debate about the role of U.S. extended deterrence in the region. Japan has also expressed more openly its desire to ensure 'extended deterrence' by U.S. nuclear weapons in recent years amid growing tensions with China.
Reuters
18-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Financial ties to nuclear arms drop about 25% post-UN treaty, campaigners find
GENEVA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The number of financial institutions with significant exposure to companies involved in the nuclear weapons industry has fallen by about a quarter since a U.N. treaty came into force in 2021, according to a report on Tuesday by campaign groups. The findings were released in a report titled " Don't Bank on the Bomb, opens new tab" by peace organisation PAX and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its efforts to promote compliance with the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. So far, 73 states have ratified it. "What we've actually been seeing over the last years is that this number of financial institutions with significant financial exposure to the nuclear weapon industry, that have come up in our findings, that this number has continued to fall, which we've been seeing since 2021," Alejandra Muñoz Valdez, senior project officer at PAX and co-author of the report, told Reuters. "We see this as a good thing." She said many companies had adopted policies that restrict or exclude investment in nuclear weapons and referred specifically to the 2021 treaty, even those based in countries that have not yet ratified it. "I think it shows quite nicely how it has had an impact, even in countries whose governments have not signed a treaty," Muñoz Valdez said. However, some 260 financial institutions such as banks and pension funds still have exposure to nuclear weapons in the form of shares and bonds, or through the provision or loans or underwriting debt, the report said. "We think these are weapons of mass destruction, the most destructive weapons ever created, with devastating consequences should they ever be used. So we think all investors should stay away from the companies that produce them," she added.
