ID :
199523
Sat, 08/06/2011 - 18:03
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https://oananews.org//node/199523
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Kan commits to reducing reliance on nuclear power at Hiroshima memorial+
HIROSHIMA, Aug. 6 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan pledged Saturday in Hiroshima to work toward the elimination of nuclear weapons and lowering Japan's reliance on nuclear power following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, which he said has caused concerns about radiation-induced health risks.
''Japan will reduce its level of reliance on nuclear power generation with the aim of becoming a society that is not dependent on nuclear power,'' Kan said in his speech during a ceremony to mark the 66th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city.
The accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant ''caused the release of radioactive materials, thus generating tremendous concern in Japan and around the world,'' Kan told the ceremony attended by representatives from 66 countries including James Zumwalt, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
Japan will work hard toward ''bringing the incident to a close as quickly as possible and preventing health hazards,'' Kan said, adding that he ''deeply'' regretted ''believing in the 'security myth' of nuclear power.''
The world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at the Fukushima plant was the center of attention at this year's ceremony, along with the abolition of nuclear weapons and support measures for atomic-bomb survivors.
Envoys from countries such as France, Britain and Russia attended the ceremony.
In his peace declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged the government ''quickly review'' the country's energy policies and institute concrete countermeasures. But he stopped short of explicitly calling for the end of nuclear power generation.
''From the common admonition that 'nuclear energy and humankind cannot coexist,' some seek to abandon nuclear power altogether. Others advocate extremely strict control of nuclear power and increased utilization of renewable energy,'' Matsui said.
Matsui, who in April became the first Hiroshima mayor born to an atomic-bomb survivor, related the experiences of two atomic-bomb survivors -- a man who was 13 and a woman who was 16 at the time of the bombing -- in the declaration.
Sergio de Queiroz Duarte, U.N. high representative for disarmament affairs, read out a message from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. ''We recommit ourselves to pursue this goal (a world free of nuclear weapons) with all the reason, passion and imagination we can summon.''
Philippe Janvier-Kamiyama, consul general of France in Kyoto, attended the ceremony for the first time and said the ceremony was ''impressive,'' adding that ''The final goal is dismantlement of all (nuclear) warheads.''
On the Fukushima nuclear crisis, he said, ''It's a good lesson for us too because through the problems of Fukushima we have to think about plants, to reduce the risks at the maximum and to build new plants very safely.''
David Fitton, charge d'affaires of the British Embassy, said, speaking in Japanese, ''I was impressed by the speeches made by the prime minister and the mayor as well as those by the children.''
''We have also begun to consider the safety of nuclear energy following the Fukushima accident. Like Japan, we are thinking of the future of our energy policy,'' he said.
Kozo Sakai, who attended the ceremony for the first time representing bereaved family members of atomic-bomb victims from Fukushima Prefecture, said, ''I'm glad I came here. I could imagine how the people who were atomic-bombed felt.''
''This year, the events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are no longer somebody else's affair,'' said Sakai, whose deceased father was an atomic-bomb survivor in Hiroshima.
Kiyoko Daimaru, 88, who lost her younger sister in the nuclear attack, came to the park before the ceremony and prayed together with her 90-year-old husband. ''I'm getting weak year by year but coming here is my duty.''
In Hiroshima the total number of atomic-bomb victims has reached 275,230, including 5,785 who died in the past year. The average age of the 68,886 atomic-bomb survivors living in the city of Hiroshima is 77.
The total number of atomic-bomb survivors from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings stood at 219,410 as of March, around 8,000 less than the year before.
==Kyodo
2011-08-06 23:13:38