

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

The crowd came together for the annual ceremony at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, which sits near the site of the nuclear attack that took the lives of over 140,000 people near the end of World War II.
"The atomic bomb is the ultimate inhumane weapon and an absolute evil," said Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui to the crowd of nearly 50,000 which included many of the aging victims who survived the attack.
Matsui continued by championing those survivors--"who know the hell of an atomic bombing"--for their continued fight against the "evil" of nuclear weapons.
Matsui also criticized the current government headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for its plans to sell nuclear power technology to India, one of four countries that have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
"The government's ongoing negotiations may bring economic benefits to Japan and India, but they will hamper efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons," said Matsui.
Matsui also tied fallout from the atomic bomb to the ongoing catastrophe at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima and the government's push to restart Japan's other nuclear reactors.
Matsui stated, "This summer, eastern Japan is still suffering the aftermath of the great earthquake and the nuclear accident. The desperate struggle to recover hometowns continues. The people of Hiroshima know well the ordeal of recovery."
"We urge the national government to rapidly develop and implement a responsible energy policy that places top priority on safety and the livelihoods of the people," Matsui said.
Most of Japan's nuclear power plants were taken offline following Fukushima's meltdown. The plant's operator TEPCO has failed to this day to maintain stability at the plant and released a statement on Tuesday warning that it is struggling in its latest efforts to stop radioactive groundwater from flowing from the plant into the sea.
Abe also spoke at the ceremony but he did not mention Fukushima nor his current plans to sell nuclear power technology to India.

_______________________
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

The crowd came together for the annual ceremony at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, which sits near the site of the nuclear attack that took the lives of over 140,000 people near the end of World War II.
"The atomic bomb is the ultimate inhumane weapon and an absolute evil," said Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui to the crowd of nearly 50,000 which included many of the aging victims who survived the attack.
Matsui continued by championing those survivors--"who know the hell of an atomic bombing"--for their continued fight against the "evil" of nuclear weapons.
Matsui also criticized the current government headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for its plans to sell nuclear power technology to India, one of four countries that have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
"The government's ongoing negotiations may bring economic benefits to Japan and India, but they will hamper efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons," said Matsui.
Matsui also tied fallout from the atomic bomb to the ongoing catastrophe at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima and the government's push to restart Japan's other nuclear reactors.
Matsui stated, "This summer, eastern Japan is still suffering the aftermath of the great earthquake and the nuclear accident. The desperate struggle to recover hometowns continues. The people of Hiroshima know well the ordeal of recovery."
"We urge the national government to rapidly develop and implement a responsible energy policy that places top priority on safety and the livelihoods of the people," Matsui said.
Most of Japan's nuclear power plants were taken offline following Fukushima's meltdown. The plant's operator TEPCO has failed to this day to maintain stability at the plant and released a statement on Tuesday warning that it is struggling in its latest efforts to stop radioactive groundwater from flowing from the plant into the sea.
Abe also spoke at the ceremony but he did not mention Fukushima nor his current plans to sell nuclear power technology to India.

_______________________
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

The crowd came together for the annual ceremony at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, which sits near the site of the nuclear attack that took the lives of over 140,000 people near the end of World War II.
"The atomic bomb is the ultimate inhumane weapon and an absolute evil," said Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui to the crowd of nearly 50,000 which included many of the aging victims who survived the attack.
Matsui continued by championing those survivors--"who know the hell of an atomic bombing"--for their continued fight against the "evil" of nuclear weapons.
Matsui also criticized the current government headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for its plans to sell nuclear power technology to India, one of four countries that have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
"The government's ongoing negotiations may bring economic benefits to Japan and India, but they will hamper efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons," said Matsui.
Matsui also tied fallout from the atomic bomb to the ongoing catastrophe at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima and the government's push to restart Japan's other nuclear reactors.
Matsui stated, "This summer, eastern Japan is still suffering the aftermath of the great earthquake and the nuclear accident. The desperate struggle to recover hometowns continues. The people of Hiroshima know well the ordeal of recovery."
"We urge the national government to rapidly develop and implement a responsible energy policy that places top priority on safety and the livelihoods of the people," Matsui said.
Most of Japan's nuclear power plants were taken offline following Fukushima's meltdown. The plant's operator TEPCO has failed to this day to maintain stability at the plant and released a statement on Tuesday warning that it is struggling in its latest efforts to stop radioactive groundwater from flowing from the plant into the sea.
Abe also spoke at the ceremony but he did not mention Fukushima nor his current plans to sell nuclear power technology to India.

_______________________