02-08-2025
NHK survey: nearly half foresee increase in nuclear arms
An NHK survey shows nearly half of respondents predict either no change or actually an increase in the number of nuclear weapons that currently exist around the world.
NHK surveyed by mail 3,600 people aged 18 or older across Japan from May through July ahead of the 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The response rate was 55.3 percent.
When asked how they view the US atomic bombings, 67 percent said it is unforgivable even now, while 20 percent said that it was unavoidable.
In contrast, an NHK survey 10 years ago conducted by telephone showed 49 percent said it cannot be forgiven, while 40 percent said it was unavoidable. But, the results cannot be precisely compared due to different survey methods.
Asked what they think will happen to nuclear weapons that exist now, only 2 percent said that they will be completely abolished, and 11 percent said they cannot be completely abolished but their number will decrease substantially.
Thirty-six percent predicted a slight decrease, while 49 percent said there will be no change, or they will actually increase in number.
The 2015 survey showed 2 percent, 12 percent, 45 percent and 32 percent, respectively.
Professor Kawano Noriyuki at the graduate school of Hiroshima University said that people are aware that an ultimate goal, and an ideal, is clearly a world without nuclear arms as those in the atomic bombed cities are pursuing. But he adds that they also know it cannot happen amid escalating tensions in some parts of the world.
Kawano said that people are standing on a major threshold: whether to accept the current reality, or take a specific action toward the goal. He said the atomic-bombed cities are facing a major challenge.
