| 意見 >>> 国際反核法律家協会(IALANA)に関する文書 |
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Greetings on Behalf of the Japanese Delegation |
Masanori IKEDA, Head of the Delegation |
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On two hot days in August sixty-two years ago, by the devilish order of the President of the United States, the buttons were pressed to drop the atomic bombs. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were annihilated within ten seconds. A devil's weapon to bring an end to the human race, using massive energy released by nuclear fission, was revealed. Under the mushroom cloud was a hell on earth. On those days, humankind entered the atomic age, in which people must live with the fear of self-extermination.
The Hibakusha, A-Bomb survivors who miraculously survived the A-Bomb hell that instantly killed hundreds of thousands of people, have continued to suffer from the effects of the A-Bombs and will continue to suffer until the end of their days. The A-Bomb is a devilish weapon that will not allow us to live nor to die as human beings. Those Hibakusha who experienced the hell on earth have insisted that they do not want to see any nuclear weapons tested or used. Further, they believe that the U.S. should acknowledge the crime of having used the A-Bombs and apologize to the victims, and in evidence, it should abandon its nuclear arsenal. The Hibakusha are invaluable. They can tell us of the danger of annihilation of humankind by nuclear war through their own experiences of A-Bomb hell, not through scholars' theories or politicians' doctrines but through eyewitness testimonies. This is why I believe they are a treasure of the world and prophets in the nuclear era. If we ignore the voices of the Hibakusha and forget the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, human beings will certainly bring about their own destruction by a nuclear war. In this sense, the Hibakusha have always been a symbol of the movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
In its founding declaration, the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) defined the role of lawyers in the nuclear era: lawyers must use their knowledge to contribute to the movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Mr. Weeramantry, current President of the IALANA believes Japanese lawyers have a mission and responsibility to tell of the reality of the A-Bombs to the world and to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Based on our special responsibility as lawyers of an A-Bombed country, the members of the Japanese Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (JALANA), since its founding, have worked together with the Hibakusha in the movement to abolish nuclear weapons. Through the activities of bar associations and through administrative litigations against the government demanding A-Bomb Disease recognition for the Hibakusha, we have also pressured the Japanese government to accept responsibility for starting the war that led to the A-Bomb tragedies, and we have supported the struggles of the Hibakusha to demand state compensation for their A-Bomb experiences.
Regrettably, since its surrender to the U.S., the Japanese government has consistently adopted policies relying on the nuclear weapons of the U.S. in order to promote Japan's security, policies which are unacceptable to the A-Bomb survivors. The principle of the Constitution of Japan that prohibits maintaining any war potential has been ignored for the sake of the common interests of U.S. and Japanese rulers. This explains why the Japanese government continues to refuse to accept the fundamental demands of the A-Bomb survivors in domestic and international forums concerning the abolition of nuclear weapons. The Japanese government's official view is that the A-Bomb victims must endure the suffering from the A-Bombs, as they were scourges of war for which the government has no legal obligation to compensate. Further, the Japanese government claims that the use of nuclear weapons is against the spirit of the International Humanitarian Law but not illegal. Following the request of the U.S. government, the Japanese government is trying to change Article 9 of the Constitution and to promote policies that would allow the already enlarged Japanese Self Defense Forces to join in U.S.-led wars.
We, Japanese lawyers, with firm determination, are joining the people's movement to prevent the adverse revision of the current constitution that forbids the country to have any war potential, in support of the position of the A-Bomb survivors. The achievement of Costa Rica has proven the strength of a country without armed forces during the last half century, and Ms. Karen Olson and Dr. Carlos Vargas's peace visits to Japan have given us boundless encouragement.
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the organizers for organizing this international conference in Costa Rica for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Our delegation from Japan includes two A-Bomb survivors, a doctor who has continued to give medical treatment to the A-Bomb victims, and a singer who supports and encourages the struggles of the Hibakusha, in addition to the member lawyers and international law scholars of the JALANA, an affiliate of the IALANA.
I am convinced that the forthcoming exchanges and activities here in Costa Rica will be fruitful for all of us. |
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