2018 Nagasaki Appeal“It’s two minutes to midnight”. On January 25, 2018, the Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists shocked the world by moving the hands of its symbolic Doomsday Clock 30
seconds closer to the end of humanity. It is now set as close as it has ever been set since
its inception in 1947. Yet, the situation may be getting even worse. First, the UnitedStates released a new Nuclear Posture Review which advocates an expanded role fornuclear weapons and calls for development and deployment of new nuclear weaponsthat are more “usable”. Second, the US declared that it will no longer implement theJoint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran. Third, the US announced its intention towithdraw from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty withRussia.
The rate of reduction of nuclear arsenals has slowed in recent years. An estimated
14,450 nuclear warheads remain, most held by the US and Russia, most an order ofmagnitude more powerful than the US atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima andNagasaki. Mirroring the US nuclear posture, Russia has announced plans to develop
new “invincible” nuclear weapons. In addition, China, France, India, Israel, Pakistan
and the UK are engaged in nuclear weapons “modernization” programs intended tosustain their nuclear forces for the foreseeable future. And all of them are involved in
war games and conflicts that could escalate catastrophically at any time. The stockpileof weapons-useable materials (highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium),including for civilian purposes, is also increasing and is now equivalent to more than
100,000 nuclear warheads. The five original Nuclear Weapon States are continuing toviolate and ignore their obligations under the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty(NPT) to end the arms race at an early date and to negotiate “in good faith” theelimination of nuclear weapons.
At the same time, the historic adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons (TPNW) and the subsequent award of the Nobel Peace Prize to theInternational Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) have empowered us andgiven us hope. To date, 69 States have signed and 19 countries have ratified the Treaty.
Although the TPNW may have sharpened the division between the nucleararmed/nuclear-umbrella States and the States not possessing nuclear weapons, themajority of the world’s countries have embraced the Treaty, which has strengthened thenorm that nuclear weapons are an “absolute evil”, incompatible with international
humanitarian law.
Furthermore, promising developments are underway in Northeast Asia. The Summits
between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Republic of Korea(ROK) have increased prospects for a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula, and thehistoric US-DPRK Summit in Singapore has given us hope that the Korean War and thelong-hostile relationship between the two countries may finally end. This is an
important opportunity to make a progress towards a Northeast Asia Nuclear Weapon
Free Zone including Japan, and to attain sustainable peace and security in NortheastAsia.

1The testimonies and actions of Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) have been apowerful source of inspiration for nuclear disarmament movements since the beginningof the atomic age. But we must realize that the remaining time for Hibakusha to telltheir own stories is growing short. It is essential for us to come up with innovative ways
to transmit the tragic experiences of Hibakusha through pictures, music, movies,animations, and more. It is particularly encouraging to see that younger generations are
becoming more active on nuclear disarmament and are initiating their own campaigns
and peace education programs.
Japan’s so-called “nuclear dilemma” – maintaining the goal of nuclear weaponsabolition while depending on the US nuclear umbrella – has been deepening. The
Japanese government has established a Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive
Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament, to serve as a “bridge-builder” between thenuclear-armed/nuclear-umbrella States and the States not possessing nuclear weapons.
Although this is a positive step, the Japanese government has not made any effective
recommendations to that end. On the contrary, as Japan stands in opposition to theTPNW, it seems to have lost its way on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation
policy and is losing its stature as a central player in promoting the abolition of nuclear
weapons. Japan’s huge plutonium stockpile makes its nuclear policy even morequestionable.
Based on the above observations, the participants in the 6th Nagasaki Global Citizens’
Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons appeal for the following concrete
actions.
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We call for early ratification of the TPNW by all States, and good faithdisarmament efforts pursuant to Article VI of the NPT, especially by the Nuclear
Weapon States. In this context, we urge the US and Russian governments to renew
dialogue aimed at maintaining the INF Treaty and extending and expanding theNew Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that will expire in 2021. Thesetalks should encompass not only nuclear arms but all aspects of “strategic stability”
including but not limited to ballistic missile defense systems, hypersonic missiles,
and weaponization of space. We also urge all States that have not yet done so tosign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. And we call on all
States to stop producing weapons-useable fissile materials, including for civilian
purposes.
We call on all countries currently relying on the threatened use of nuclear weapons
for their national security (“nuclear deterrence”) to reduce and eliminate the role ofnuclear weapons and to shift their security policies to policies based on global
citizens’ security.
We welcome the recent opening of dialogue between the DPRK and the ROK as
well as between the DPRK and the US. We call upon all States concerned to fulfill
the commitments made in connection with the recent Summits. In this respect, weurge them to accelerate their efforts to end the Korean War as a step towards
establishing lasting peace and security in Northeast Asia. Building on the agreement
to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, we urge all States in the region to start

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negotiations to establish a Northeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone with aneffective verification regime. We also urge other States involved in conflicts tofollow the example of dialogue and confidence-building now being set on theKorean Peninsula in order to build global peace.
Given the declining population of Hibakusha, we are encouraged by the younger
generations’ initiatives such as the proposed “Youth Network for Peace”. We call on
all generations to work together to actively remember and transmit the tragic
experiences and wishes of the Hibakusha to succeeding generations throughactivities including promotion of the “Hibakusha Appeal” international signature
campaign.
As the only State to experience a war-time nuclear attack, we urge the Japanese
government to take advantage of the improved security environment in Northeast
Asia. Japan should end its dependence on nuclear weapons and make genuine
efforts to rebuild national and international trust by signing the TPNW andpromoting a Northeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone.

We pledge to continue our determined efforts to achieve a world without nuclear
weapons, and appeal to the people and governments of the world: “Nagasaki must be
the last A-bombed city”.
November 18th, 2018
The 6th Nagasaki Global Citizens’ Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

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