Statement of the Mayor of Nagasaki
at the Preparatory Committee for NPT Review ConferenceMay 5, 2009
Mr. Chairman and the delegates of all the countries represented here today; my name isTomihisa Taue and I am the mayor of Nagasaki City. As Vice-President of Mayors for
Peace, I am grateful to have this opportunity to convey the voices of the citizens of theatomic-bombed city of Nagasaki and those who stand in solidarity with themeverywhere.
The hopes of these citizens have been raised by the words of United States President
Barrack Obama, who proclaimed in Prague this April that “the United States will takeconcrete steps toward a world without nuclear weapons.”
Our hopes were also raised in the year 2000, when the nuclear powers promised tocompletely abolish nuclear weapons at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review
Conference. In reality, this promise was ignored and a period of severe cold followed.
Even during this period, however, the people in the atomic-bombed cities continued
with their efforts. Some 64 years after the atomic bombing, the people of Nagasaki are
still speaking out about the horrific destruction caused by the bomb and maintaining
their hope that nuclear weapons will be abolished.
Constantly at the center of these efforts are the atomic bomb survivors. These
courageous people have continued to speak out about the terrible suffering they went
through, even while overcoming horrific injuries and the loss of loved ones. They
believe the international community has failed to seriously undertake nuclear
disarmament because even now it does not comprehend the true horror of nuclear
weapons. Having survived the devastation of the atomic bomb, they believe it is theirmission and responsibility to recount to others their terrible memories. Underlying
their efforts is a desire to ensure that no one else in the world experiences the same fate.
Now, carrying on the mission of the aging atomic survivors, young people in Nagasaki
are making efforts of their own, such as creating petitions calling for the abolition ofnuclear weapons.

Three days after the attack on Hiroshima, at 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945, more than
150,000 Nagasaki citizens were killed or injured by the atomic bombing, and survivors
suffer from aftereffects to this day. The people of Nagasaki consider this horrificexperience a warning to humankind, and earnestly work to send their message to theworld. The Mayors for Peace Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol to eliminate nuclear
weapons by 2020, the 75th anniversary of the nuclear attack on Nagasaki, echoes thepleas of the people from the atomic-bombed cities.
In last year’s Nagasaki Peace Declaration, I declared that the U.S. and Russia must takethe lead in efforts to abolish nuclear weapons. These two countries, said to possess
95% of the world’s nuclear warheads, should begin implementing broad reductions of
their arsenals. We were particularly moved by President Obama’s recognition of hiscountry’s responsibility when he stated that “as the only nuclear power to have used anuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act.”
To President Obama and the leaders of all nuclear powers, we say, “Please come toNagasaki. Visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and see the aftermath of thebombing. Listen to the voices of the survivors and you will understand why we sostrongly seek a world without nuclear weapons. We embrace President Obama’s
proposal for a Global Summit on Nuclear Security and Nagasaki offers to host a session,
so that world leaders can dedicate themselves to ensuring that it is forever the last site of
an atomic bombing. You will be welcomed with open arms.
This August the Mayors for Peace General Conference will be held in Nagasaki City,and next February representatives from NGOs will gather here for the 4th Global
Citizen’s Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to meeting again in Nagasaki, in preparation forour gathering next year in New York. Let us make the trend toward a nuclear
weapon-free world a steady, powerful trend of the times
I hold high hopes that the discussions of the Preparatory Committee this year will bethorough, and that next year’s NPT Review Conference will produce substantial results.
Thank you for your kind attention.