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Nagasaki calls on leaders to visit atomic bomb site
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 9, 2009 Nagasaki's mayor, marking the 64th anniversary of his city's atomic bombing by the United States, called Sunday on the leaders of nuclear-armed powers to visit the site and build a nuclear-free world. Tomihisa Tanoue urged world leaders from both declared nuclear powers and others such as Iran, Israel and North Korea to visit the city in southwestern Japan. "I am sure anyone who visits here would feel the sorrow of the victims and be shaken by it," the mayor said in an address at an annual ceremony commemorating the 1945 bombing. A minute of silence was observed at 11:02 am (0202 GMT), when the US bomb exploded above the city, killing roughly 74,000 people. The bombing followed one a week before in Hiroshima and hastened Japan's surrender in World War II. Tanoue said an April speech by US President Barack Obama in Prague, where Obama pledged to build a world with no nuclear weapons, "impressed" the residents of Nagasaki. "The Japanese government must support the Prague speech. As a nation that has come under nuclear attack, Japan must lead the international community" in abolishing the weapons, he said. Similar appeals were made Thursday when Hiroshima marked the anniversary of its bombing, which killed 140,000 people. At the Nagasaki ceremony, Prime Minister Taro Aso reiterated the Japanese government's anti-nuclear stance, three weeks ahead of national elections that he is tipped to lose. Aso raised eyebrows at the Hiroshima ceremony, when he pledged to work toward abolishing nuclear weapons but later told reporters that he thought it was "unimaginable" to attain a nuclear-free world. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
US Air Force sets up new command for nuclear forcesWashington (AFP) Aug 7, 2009 The US Air Force on Friday launches a new Global Strike Command responsible for nuclear forces after two major mishaps raised doubts about the supervision of the country's atomic weapons. The opening of the command marks a shake-up that followed the botched handling of nuclear weapons and the subsequent sacking of the air force's top civilian and military leaders last year. The command, ... read more |
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