Messages from the Mayor of
Hiroshima and the Mayor of Nagasaki
August 6, 1999

Hiroshima Day Commemoration in Adelaide, Australia

"...the world situation regarding nuclear weapons is very serious as exemplified by the increasing of the threat of nuclear proliferation. The time has surely come for the people of the world to join together, strictly abiding by the rules of the United Nations Charter, in striving to make the 21st century free of nuclear weapons and to create an international society in which children can live in peace and security ." - Iccho Itoh, Mayor of Hiroshima

" Hiroshima has continually sought to tell the world of the human tragedy caused by the atomic bomb, especially the consequences of humankind's first mass encounter with radiation. ... India, then Pakistan, carried out nuclear tests in May last year. The United States and Russia have repeatedly conducted sub-critical nuclear tests, and disarmament by the nuclear powers has slowed to a halt. The urgent issues before the international community at this time are encouraging voluntary disarmament by the nuclear powers and strengthening the non-proliferation regime." - Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima

The full text of the messages follow.

Message from the Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, to Hiroshima Day Commemoration in Adelaide, August 6, 1999

I would like to express my deep admiration on this occasion for the efforts for peace of everyone involved in the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Victims' Commemoration ceremony held in Adelaide to pray for the victims of the atomic bomb.

Fifty-four years ago, an atomic bomb was dropped on a living city for the first time in human history. That city was Hiroshima. The bomb's intense heat rays, the blast and the great fires that immediately ensued reduced our city to a scorched wasteland. Hundreds of thousands of human beings were killed or injured.

Beyond the immediate damage, radiation emitted with the explosion penetrated deeply into the bodies of those exposed, destroying cells and threatening the lives of survivors even today. Nuclear weapons unleash inconceivable destructive power, but are even more inhumane because the radiation they release continue to torment its victims, decades after the war ends.

Hiroshima has continually sought to tell the world of the human tragedy caused by the atomic bomb, especially the consequences of humankind's first mass encounter with radiation. We have consistently opposed all nuclear testing and have called fro the elimination of nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, vast stockpiles of nuclear weapons remain on the Earth today, enough to annihilate the human race many times over. These weapons threaten the very existence of humankind.

India, then Pakistan, carried out nuclear tests in May last year. The United States and Russia have repeatedly conducted sub-critical nuclear tests, and disarmament by the nuclear powers has slowed to a halt. The urgent issues before the international community at this time are encouraging voluntary disarmament by the nuclear powers and strengthening the non-proliferation regime.

To achieve these ends, we must arouse international opinion in favor of abolishing nuclear weapons. We must link cities and citizens in an expanding ring of solidarity that transcends national boundaries, then channel that energy toward shifting the policies of the nuclear powers.

Seen in this light, your prayers offered in the Commemoration Ceremony in Adelaide simultaneously with those offered in Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima on August 6th, take on profound significance. I pray our shared pleas for peace, which transcend national boundaries, will expand outward in the world, hastening the day when nuclear weapons shall be abolished and lasting world peace may be realized.

Lastly, I would like to express my hopes and prayers for even greater success of the Australian Peace Committee, and for the good health of all present here today.

Message from the mayor of Nagasaki, Iccho Itoh, to Hiroshima Day Commemoration in Adelaide, August 4, 1999

As a mayor of the city of Nagasaki, I consider it a great honor to extend this message of friendship and solidarity on the occasion of the commemoration ceremony to honor the memory of the atomic bomb victims and to express solidarity with the bomb survivors.

I would like to extend my sincere respect and gratitude to you all for holding this ceremony of consoling the souls of those who dies in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, with the aspiration for the abolition of nuclear weapons and for the realization of lasting world peace.

On August 9, 1945, Nagasaki was devasted by the explosion of an atomic bomb. Fifty-four years have passed since that day, but many atomic bomb survivors continue to suffer from the late effects and to live in fear of illness.

The citizens of Nagasaki have appealed relentlessly for the abolition of nuclear weapons and for the realization of lasting world peace to ensure that this tragedy is never repeated on Earth. However, the world situation regarding nuclear weapons is very serious as exemplified by the increasing of the threat of nuclear proliferation. The time has surely come for the people of the world to join together, strictly abiding by the rules of the United Nations Charter, in striving to make the 21st Century free of nuclear weapons and to create an international society in which children can live in peace and security.

In conclusion, please accept my warm wishes for the good health and the great success of everyone gathered in this commemoration ceremony.