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Kyodo News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Kyodo News
FOCUS: Japan at nuclear crossroads 80 yrs after A-bombings as survivors age
NAGASAKI - Eighty years after the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan faces with growing urgency the question of how to carry forward the moral voice for ridding the world of nuclear weapons as generational memory fades and nuclear risks rise amid the advancement of technology. Atomic bomb survivors, who have helped shape the nuclear taboo over the past decades, are now on average over the age of 86, meaning that the generation of those who witnessed firsthand the horrific effects of nuclear weapons is nearing its end, leaving a void increasingly difficult to fill. Positioned close to an assertive China and North Korea that is honing its nuclear capabilities, the Japanese government is unlikely to give up its reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent anytime soon, despite viewing its mission as advocating for a world without nuclear weapons. Following this week's 80th atomic bomb commemorative events, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a press conference Saturday that the government is committed to defending the country and its people, while at the same time working to eliminate nuclear weapons. "So how do we balance these two issues? I firmly believe that we have to fulfill both responsibilities," he said. Heigo Sato, a professor with expertise on security issues at Takushoku University in Tokyo, said Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks in war, should continue to play a key role in leading global efforts toward nuclear disarmament through what he calls a "multiple-pronged approach," given the challenges seen in international treaties regarding nuclear weapons. While the U.N. nuclear ban treaty lacks the support of nuclear weapon states, a broader arms control regime based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is increasingly under strain. In June, the United States carried out air strikes on Iran to degrade its nuclear programs, leading Tehran to issue threats to withdraw from the NPT. "We should neither be too dominated by talks on nuclear deterrence, nor be obsessed with the nuclear ban treaty," Sato said, suggesting that other approaches could include reinforcing a system to prevent nuclear proliferation or "fostering an international social movement that rejects nuclear weapons." As nuclear weapon states continue to modernize and expand their arsenals amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in the Midde East and other geopolitical tensions, the landscape could be further complicated as artificial intelligence is eventually incorporated into nuclear command and control systems. Melissa Parke of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, warned of a "perilous" nuclear age in which AI, rather than human judgment, drives decision-making. She argues that this technological detachment makes it all the more urgent that policymakers heed the messages of those who have experienced the consequences of nuclear weapons firsthand. "We need global leaders to be listening to the hibakusha (survivors) about the reality of what nuclear weapons actually do to people. They talk in very abstract terms about nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence," said Parke. "But the reality is actually what the hibakusha are talking about." The testimonies of the survivors to convey the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons can only increase its significance as time passes, with both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki city governments training future generations to become "storytellers" to carry forward the account. But Sato is doubtful about the effectiveness of such efforts, saying that future storytellers are "no different from a game of telephone" as they are essentially recounting someone else's story. "As with any game of telephone, the further along the chain you go, the more the message gets distorted or loses impact," he said. Mitsuhiro Hayashida, whose grandfather survived the atomic blast in Nagasaki, said a broader understanding of history, including Japan's aggression in the lead-up to and during World War II, will help encourage the youth to link the stories with present day action to realize peace. In contrast to Germany, where children study the history of World War II in the hope of preventing future atrocities, the discourse in Japan tends to focus on victimhood, he said. "We need to explain the atomic bombings not just as isolated events, but in connection with the broader history of the war -- why that war happened, and what kind of reflection followed in postwar Japan," said the 33-year-old, who founded Peace Education Lab Nagasaki in 2023 to provide such training. While the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to Nihon Hidankyo, Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors, has helped to reinvigorate citizens' movements and individual activists, a significant impact on a government policy level has yet to be seen. Terumi Tanaka, 93, who has long played a key role in Nihon Hidankyo, said that the government, as a democracy, reflects the will of the people. "If we have a government that supports policies like nuclear deterrence, ultimately, it's the responsibility of the citizens," Tanaka, a co-chair of the group, said at an event in Nagasaki on Friday. For Tanaka, who was exposed to the bombing in the city at age 13, seeing his efforts culminate in the signing and ratification of the nuclear ban treaty by Japan and meaningful steps toward eliminating nuclear weapons is one of his greatest wishes in life. "If we can begin to see a path to abolition, I think I can finally say farewell with peace in my heart," he said.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Japan at nuclear crossroads 80 years after A-bombings as survivors age
Mitsuhiro Hayashida, whose grandfather survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, conducts training through his organization Peace Education Lab Nagasaki. (Photo not for sale)(Photo courtesy of Mitsuhiro Hayashida)(For editorial use only)(Photo use permitted only for the story concerned)(Kyodo) ==Kyodo By Donican Lam Eighty years after the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan faces with growing urgency the question of how to carry forward the moral voice for ridding the world of nuclear weapons as generational memory fades and nuclear risks rise amid the advancement of technology. Atomic bomb survivors, who have helped shape the nuclear taboo over the past decades, are now on average over the age of 86, meaning that the generation of those who witnessed firsthand the horrific effects of nuclear weapons is nearing its end, leaving a void increasingly difficult to fill. Positioned close to an assertive China and North Korea that is honing its nuclear capabilities, the Japanese government is unlikely to give up its reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent anytime soon, despite viewing its mission as advocating for a world without nuclear weapons. Following this week's 80th atomic bomb commemorative events, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a press conference Saturday that the government is committed to defending the country and its people, while at the same time working to eliminate nuclear weapons. "So how do we balance these two issues? I firmly believe that we have to fulfill both responsibilities," he said. Heigo Sato, a professor with expertise on security issues at Takushoku University in Tokyo, said Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks in war, should continue to play a key role in leading global efforts toward nuclear disarmament through what he calls a "multiple-pronged approach," given the challenges seen in international treaties regarding nuclear weapons. While the U.N. nuclear ban treaty lacks the support of nuclear weapon states, a broader arms control regime based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is increasingly under strain. In June, the United States carried out air strikes on Iran to degrade its nuclear programs, leading Tehran to issue threats to withdraw from the NPT. "We should neither be too dominated by talks on nuclear deterrence, nor be obsessed with the nuclear ban treaty," Sato said, suggesting that other approaches could include reinforcing a system to prevent nuclear proliferation or "fostering an international social movement that rejects nuclear weapons." As nuclear weapon states continue to modernize and expand their arsenals amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in the Midde East and other geopolitical tensions, the landscape could be further complicated as artificial intelligence is eventually incorporated into nuclear command and control systems. Melissa Parke of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, warned of a "perilous" nuclear age in which AI, rather than human judgment, drives decision-making. She argues that this technological detachment makes it all the more urgent that policymakers heed the messages of those who have experienced the consequences of nuclear weapons firsthand. "We need global leaders to be listening to the hibakusha (survivors) about the reality of what nuclear weapons actually do to people. They talk in very abstract terms about nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence," said Parke. "But the reality is actually what the hibakusha are talking about." The testimonies of the survivors to convey the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons can only increase its significance as time passes, with both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki city governments training future generations to become "storytellers" to carry forward the account. But Sato is doubtful about the effectiveness of such efforts, saying that future storytellers are "no different from a game of telephone" as they are essentially recounting someone else's story. "As with any game of telephone, the further along the chain you go, the more the message gets distorted or loses impact," he said. Mitsuhiro Hayashida, whose grandfather survived the atomic blast in Nagasaki, said a broader understanding of history, including Japan's aggression in the lead-up to and during World War II, will help encourage the youth to link the stories with present day action to realize peace. In contrast to Germany, where children study the history of World War II in the hope of preventing future atrocities, the discourse in Japan tends to focus on victimhood, he said. "We need to explain the atomic bombings not just as isolated events, but in connection with the broader history of the war -- why that war happened, and what kind of reflection followed in postwar Japan," said the 33-year-old, who founded Peace Education Lab Nagasaki in 2023 to provide such training. While the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to Nihon Hidankyo, Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors, has helped to reinvigorate citizens' movements and individual activists, a significant impact on a government policy level has yet to be seen. Terumi Tanaka, 93, who has long played a key role in Nihon Hidankyo, said that the government, as a democracy, reflects the will of the people. "If we have a government that supports policies like nuclear deterrence, ultimately, it's the responsibility of the citizens," Tanaka, a co-chair of the group, said at an event in Nagasaki on Friday. For Tanaka, who was exposed to the bombing in the city at age 13, seeing his efforts culminate in the signing and ratification of the nuclear ban treaty by Japan and meaningful steps toward eliminating nuclear weapons is one of his greatest wishes in life. "If we can begin to see a path to abolition, I think I can finally say farewell with peace in my heart," he said. © KYODO
The Mainichi
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan at nuclear crossroads 80 yrs after A-bombings as survivors age
NAGASAKI (Kyodo) -- Eighty years after the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan faces with growing urgency the question of how to carry forward the moral voice for ridding the world of nuclear weapons as generational memory fades and nuclear risks rise amid the advancement of technology. Atomic bomb survivors, who have helped shape the nuclear taboo over the past decades, are now on average over the age of 86, meaning that the generation of those who witnessed firsthand the horrific effects of nuclear weapons is nearing its end, leaving a void increasingly difficult to fill. Positioned close to an assertive China and North Korea that is honing its nuclear capabilities, the Japanese government is unlikely to give up its reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent anytime soon, despite viewing its mission as advocating for a world without nuclear weapons. Following this week's 80th atomic bomb commemorative events, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a press conference Saturday that the government is committed to defending the country and its people, while at the same time working to eliminate nuclear weapons. "So how do we balance these two issues? I firmly believe that we have to fulfill both responsibilities," he said. Heigo Sato, a professor with expertise on security issues at Takushoku University in Tokyo, said Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks in war, should continue to play a key role in leading global efforts toward nuclear disarmament through what he calls a "multiple-pronged approach," given the challenges seen in international treaties regarding nuclear weapons. While the U.N. nuclear ban treaty lacks the support of nuclear weapon states, a broader arms control regime based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is increasingly under strain. In June, the United States carried out air strikes on Iran to degrade its nuclear programs, leading Tehran to issue threats to withdraw from the NPT. "We should neither be too dominated by talks on nuclear deterrence, nor be obsessed with the nuclear ban treaty," Sato said, suggesting that other approaches could include reinforcing a system to prevent nuclear proliferation or "fostering an international social movement that rejects nuclear weapons." As nuclear weapon states continue to modernize and expand their arsenals amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in the Midde East and other geopolitical tensions, the landscape could be further complicated as artificial intelligence is eventually incorporated into nuclear command and control systems. Melissa Parke of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, warned of a "perilous" nuclear age in which AI, rather than human judgment, drives decision-making. She argues that this technological detachment makes it all the more urgent that policymakers heed the messages of those who have experienced the consequences of nuclear weapons firsthand. "We need global leaders to be listening to the hibakusha (survivors) about the reality of what nuclear weapons actually do to people. They talk in very abstract terms about nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence," said Parke. "But the reality is actually what the hibakusha are talking about." The testimonies of the survivors to convey the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons can only increase its significance as time passes, with both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki city governments training future generations to become "storytellers" to carry forward the account. But Sato is doubtful about the effectiveness of such efforts, saying that future storytellers are "no different from a game of telephone" as they are essentially recounting someone else's story. "As with any game of telephone, the further along the chain you go, the more the message gets distorted or loses impact," he said. Mitsuhiro Hayashida, whose grandfather survived the atomic blast in Nagasaki, said a broader understanding of history, including Japan's aggression in the lead-up to and during World War II, will help encourage the youth to link the stories with present day action to realize peace. In contrast to Germany, where children study the history of World War II in the hope of preventing future atrocities, the discourse in Japan tends to focus on victimhood, he said. "We need to explain the atomic bombings not just as isolated events, but in connection with the broader history of the war -- why that war happened, and what kind of reflection followed in postwar Japan," said the 33-year-old, who founded Peace Education Lab Nagasaki in 2023 to provide such training. While the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to Nihon Hidankyo, Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors, has helped to reinvigorate citizens' movements and individual activists, a significant impact on a government policy level has yet to be seen. Terumi Tanaka, 93, who has long played a key role in Nihon Hidankyo, said that the government, as a democracy, reflects the will of the people. "If we have a government that supports policies like nuclear deterrence, ultimately, it's the responsibility of the citizens," Tanaka, a co-chair of the group, said at an event in Nagasaki on Friday. For Tanaka, who was exposed to the bombing in the city at age 13, seeing his efforts culminate in the signing and ratification of the nuclear ban treaty by Japan and meaningful steps toward eliminating nuclear weapons is one of his greatest wishes in life. "If we can begin to see a path to abolition, I think I can finally say farewell with peace in my heart," he said. By Donican Lam
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Global nuclear spending hits $100 Billion in 2024: US tops list with $56.8 Billion, India retains spot in top 9 nuclear power countries
Top 9 countries spending the most on nuclear weapons: The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) reported that global spending on nuclear weapons soared beyond $100 billion in 2024, an 11 per cent rise from the year before and a startling $190,151 every minute. The United States once again set the global nuclear spending record, contributing $56.8 billion, more than all other nuclear-armed countries put together. China spent $12.5 billion, a far cry from the $10.4 billion spent by the UK, which came in third. The UK led the list with a 26 per cent increase in its nuclear spending year over year, followed by Pakistan (18 per cent) and France (13 per cent). While the US saw the biggest absolute jump, $5.3 billion more than in 2023, ICAN warns that the cost of nuclear weapons is being borne in many ways, and not just by the countries that build them. Several nations continue to quietly host US or Russian nuclear weapons, often without public knowledge or parliamentary oversight. Beyond governments, private defense contractors are also cashing in. In 2024 alone, at least 26 companies involved in developing and maintaining nuclear arms earned a combined $43.5 billion, with ongoing contracts worth around $463 billion. These companies weren't just busy building weapons, they were also busy lobbying. In the past year, they spent over $128 million lobbying officials in the US and France, and held 196 high-level meetings with UK officials, including 18 with the prime minister's office. To put things in perspective, ICAN notes that the money spent on nuclear weapons in just one year could fund the entire United Nations budget 28 times. Meanwhile, 98 countries have chosen a different course by joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which bans all nuclear weapons-related activities and pledges to eliminate them altogether. Yet, the nine countries with nuclear capabilities have spent a combined $415.9 billion on their arsenals over the past five years, from 2020 to 2024, with a 34 per cent rise already recorded between 2019 and 2023. India is estimated to possess 172 nuclear weapons with the ability to launch them from land, air, and sea. Though official data is scarce, ICAN, using a Stimson Center methodology, estimates India spent around $2.6 billion on its nuclear arsenal in 2024–roughly three per cent of its total military budget. This equals $4,976 every minute or $2 per citizen. Key contributors include DRDO, Bharat Dynamics Limited, and Walchandnagar Industries. Source: The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Nuclear nightmares are back
The survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have had to live through several stages of trauma. First came the horrors of August 6th and August 9th 1945: the blinding flash, the ferocious force, the flesh-melting heat; plus the black rain, the flattened buildings, the charred corpses. 'It was a real hell,' recalls Tanaka Shigemitsu, who was just four years old in Nagasaki when the bomb dropped there. Then came decades of quiet suffering, as radiation ate away at victims' bodies and stigma at their souls. Finally there have been the frustrations of recent years, as the hope of a world without nuclear weapons has receded ever farther into the distance. This year's anniversaries, the 80th, come at an especially worrying time. As recently as 2009, nuclear weapons seemed increasingly anachronistic. Barack Obama, then America's newly elected president, spoke seriously of a nuclear-free world. Instead, the world has entered what strategists call a 'third nuclear age', messier and more combustible than ever before. 'The danger of nuclear weapons being used has never been as imminent at any time during the past 80 years,' laments Mr Tanaka, the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, an association of hibakusha, as the atomic-bomb survivors are known in Japan. Read our original reporting on the atomic bombings in Archive 1945 Russia's threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine helped usher in this new era, but the underlying developments are deeper. The arms-control architecture of the cold war has broken down. The New START treaty, the last remaining pact between America and Russia limiting nuclear arms, is due to expire next year. Existing nuclear states are building up and modernising arsenals. America's nuclear umbrella, which offers assurances of protection to vulnerable allies, is fraying, prompting discussions about nuclear armament in countries such as Poland, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Even in Japan, talk of acquiring a bomb is no longer beyond the pale. Around the world, the 'nuclear taboo', the shared moral revulsion that has helped control the use of nuclear weapons, seems to be weakening. Threats have become ever more overt. Just last week, as hibakusha prepared for ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America's president and the deputy head of Russia's Security Council traded nuclear barbs on social media in the manner of internet trolls. The dawn of this new nuclear age is not for lack of effort on the part of the hibakusha. Achieving political miracles was always an unfair burden to place upon them, but for decades survivors like Mr Tanaka have been telling their stories across Japan and around the world, hoping to bring about disarmament. Nihon Hidankyo received last year's Nobel peace prize for 'demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again'; hibakusha have also been central to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a network that won the peace prize in 2017 for pushing the United Nations to adopt a treaty barring the development, acquisition, stockpiling or use of nuclear weapons. Unsurprisingly, none of the world's nuclear states has signed up. For the Japanese government, the new nuclear age heightens a long-standing tension. Japan believes it has a special responsibility, as the only country to have been attacked with nuclear weapons, to advocate for disarmament. But it also depends on nuclear deterrence to ensure its security in a dangerous neighbourhood, facing three nuclear-armed states: China, Russia and North Korea. At a ceremony in Hiroshima on August 6th, Ishiba Shigeru, the prime minister, promised to 'work with all our might' to realise a 'world without nuclear weapons'. Much to the chagrin of the hibakusha, Japan has also refused to sign the new UN treaty. Yet the hibakusha will not be around to speak out much longer. 'We are approaching an era when hibakusha are no longer with us,' notes Suzuki Shiro, Nagasaki's mayor. Efforts are under way in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to keep their memories alive for future generations. Both cities have been training scores of 'atomic-bomb legacy successors'—memory keepers tasked with inheriting a specific hibakusha story. But fewer than 100,000 officially recognised hibakusha are now alive, down from a peak of nearly 400,000. Many of those still around were quite young at the time, like Mr Tanaka: the average age of the remaining survivors is 86. It is no coincidence that a new nuclear era is dawning just as the hibakusha' s voices are growing quieter. Subscribers to The Economist can sign up to our Opinion newsletter, which brings together the best of our leaders, columns, guest essays and reader correspondence.
