(August 9, 1999, The Chugoku Shimbun)

The city of Nagasaki commemorated the 54th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city on Monday. The annual Peace Memorial Ceremony for the A-bomb victims was held in the Peace Park, located in the city's Matsuyama-cho. Some 4,000 people, including the A-bomb survivors, bereaved families, the Health and Welfare Minister Sohei Miyashita, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives gathered at the park and prayed for those died from the blast.

Delivering the Peace Declaration, Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh called upon the nuclear-weapons states to issue a Nuclear Weapons Abolition Proclamation before the end of the century. He praised the actions taken by NGOs seeking the elimination of nuclear weapons. The mayor emphasized, "When worldwide public opinion influences the governments of the nations of the world, the elimination of nuclear weapons can most certainly be achieved."

In the declaration, the mayor mentioned nuclear tests conducted May of last year by India and Pakistan and criticized, "They remain wedded to the outdated illusion of nuclear deterrence."

Mayor Itoh urged the Japanese government, "Japan must play a leading role in the elimination of nuclear weapons as the only nation ever to have been subjected to nuclear devastation." Following last year's declaration, he called for the efforts to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Northeast Asia, which includes Japan and the Korean Peninsula. He also said that a security framework must be constructed that does not require a nuclear umbrella from the U.S.

The mayor also appealed to the world's young people, "We ask you to consider what you can do to make the next century one of peace and prosperity. Let everyone prepare to make a contribution to the surmounting problems of starvation and poverty, to the preservation of the environment, to the safeguarding of human life, and to the development of a society based on cooperation among the people of the world."

In the Peace Ceremony, three new booklists of 2,733 A-bomb victim names, who have died since Aug. 9 last year, was added to the cenotaph dedicated to those who perished in the blast or as a result of the radiation effects. The total number dead reached 121,588 since the A-bombing. At 11:02 a.m., the time the A-bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, participants in the ceremony and citizens observed a moment of silence as the bell rang out.

Yoshio Sugiura (age 69), who was exposed to radiation during the time he was helping to rescue victims, said "Whenever I heard the words, 'the atomic bomb', I couldn't control my anger and grief. I will continue to carry on and hope the world will be truly peaceful and make sure that Nagasaki will be the world's last place to experience the A-bombing." He renewed his pledge to work for peace.

Health and Welfare Minister Miyashita delivered an address for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who was unable to attend the ceremony, "The government will be playing a leading role in achieving a world free of nuclear weapons."

With wishes for peace, various memorial events were held in the city one after another. The annual memorial mass at the Urakami Cathedral and a memorial gathering for the Korean A-bomb victims were held from the early morning.

Yet the world, which still remains subject to regional conflict such as the Kosovo dispute, saw the possible use of nuclear weapons suggested during the NATO bombings of Yugoslavia, and nuclear tension throughout the world has generally not improved.

Picture Caption: The Peace Memorial Ceremony for the A-bomb Victims, participating bereaved families and survivors. At 10:47 a.m. on August 9 in the Peace Park, Nagasaki