On May 27, DP President Katsuya Okada released the following statement.
Today, U.S. President Barack Obama visited the city of Hiroshima. There, in the place where the atomic bomb was dropped 71 years ago, he affirmed his commitment to realising “a world free of nuclear weapons”. This is an event of historic significance, not simply for Japan and the United States, but for the entire world, and I value it highly.
I would like to take this opportunity to express once more my deepest condolences for all those who lost their lives in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We must also never forget that many people are still suffering the effects of these bombings even today.
In his statement President Obama stated “We remember all the innocents killed across the arc of that terrible war” and went on to say, “among those nations like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles, we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them.” I am convinced that for the President of the United States to have witnessed the consequences of the atomic bombings and to have reaffirmed his commitment in this way, with his feelings fresh in his mind, will open a new chapter toward realizing “a world free of nuclear weapons”. We must not put a halt to this movement.
President Obama also referred to the Japan-U.S. relationship. The United States, the only country to have used nuclear weapons, and Japan, the only country to have experienced an atomic bombing during wartime, have joined hands to aim for a world free from nuclear weapons. This can only serve to deepen the future relationship between our two nations.
The United States, the only country to have used nuclear weapons, has made a momentous decision. It is time for Japan, the only country to have experienced an atomic bombing during wartime, and a country currently facing a nuclear threat, to take action. We must strengthen our links with other nations who share the same goals, and as an international community display our strong commitment to aim for “a world without nuclear weapons”. To achieve this goal we must engage in discussions with the United States and other countries who possess nuclear weapons.
Nuclear weapons must never again be used in the future course of humanity. This is something that Japan knows best of all the nations in the world. That is why we needs to maintain the path of a pacifist nation, rather than that of a “normal nation”. The Democratic Party intends to continue to convey this message determinedly both at home and abroad.