US ambassador goes to Hiroshima

This year saw two significant developments on Hiroshima Day. Sixty-five years after the US dropped atomic bombs on Japan, an official US government representative attended the Hiroshima memorial ceremony for the first time. US Ambassador John Roos said, ‘For the sake of future generations, we must continue to work together to realise a world without nuclear weapons.’This is without doubt a result of President Obama’s drive towards nuclear abolition. And without doubt critics will say it is just a gesture, but I for one think it is an important gesture – and one appreciated by the Japanese. Many hope that it paves the way for a visit to Hiroshima by Obama himself.

And it was notable that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also participated in the Hiroshima memorial ceremony. Mr Ban is a real advocate of nuclear abolition as we have seen from his interventions over the past months and at the NPT Review Conference in particular.

Here’s a taste of what he said at Hiroshima: ‘Together, we are on a journey from ground zero to global zero – a world free of weapons of mass destruction…That is the only sane path to a safer world. For as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will live under a nuclear shadow.’

Quite right. And he also said that ‘We see new energy from civil society’. I agree with that, but if we want to achieve the real change that we strive for, we must redouble our efforts now. All these small steps move things in our direction – we must maximise those steps. There is no doubt that global abolition is on the agenda. We mustn’t miss the chance to help make it happen.