Monday, August 6, 2001
Prime Minister visiting Kandayama Yasuragien, a nursing home in Hiroshima
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attended the annual Hiroshima Memorial Service for the Dead and Peace Memorial Ceremony held in Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima. Following the "Peace Declaration" from Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima City and the "Commitment to Peace" delivered by the representatives of the children of Hiroshima City, Prime Minister Koizumi stated, "Being the only country ever to have experienced nuclear devastation, Japan observes its Peace Constitution, firmly maintaining the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. Japan is also continuing to appeal to the international community for the abolition of nuclear weapons and realization of a permanent peace so that the horrors of nuclear weapons never be repeated." He further affirmed, "Japan leads the international community in promoting efforts for nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and in its endeavors to abolish nuclear weapons." Prime Minister Koizumi noted, "As regards the atomic bomb victims, I will continue to devote myself wholeheartedly to promoting support measures while taking into consideration the circumstances of the atomic bomb victims who are advancing in years." After the end of the ceremony, Prime Minister Koizumi went to Kandayama Yasuragien, a nursing home in Hiroshima, and visited some of the patients. |