Top �� Speeches and Statements by Prime Minister

(Provisional Translation) Address by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the Nagasaki Memorial Service for the Nagasaki Peace Ceremony

Here today, on the occasion of the Nagasaki Peace Ceremony marking the 59th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, I reverently pay sincere tribute to the souls of the atomic bomb victims. Furthermore, I express my heartfelt sympathy for those suffering from the after-effects of the atomic bomb. With regard to the atomic bomb victims, I have been working to enhance comprehensive support measures spanning health care, medical treatment and welfare. The Government of Japan is planning to subsidize health and medical care expenses in order for atomic bomb victims living abroad to be able to receive appropriate treatment at their local medical institutions from this autumn. I will continue to work sincerely to promote support measures by accurately reflecting on the reality of the aging victims of the atomic bomb. Under these circumstances, Nagasaki Prefecture and Nagasaki City dispatched a medical team to the Republic of Korea (ROK) last month and held medical checkups for atomic bomb victims for the first time. This was an endeavor that won high praise from the victims living in the ROK. After the war, Nagasaki has achieved great development as a tourist city where the legacy of history lives on. I would like to express my heartfelt respect to the countless people who consistently poured their energies into the reconstruction of Nagasaki. The desire of the people of Nagasaki in their post-war efforts towards the achievement of world peace has been firmly planted along with the Bells of Peace in the hearts and minds of the people of the world. I strongly believe that Nagasaki will continue to develop as an international center of exchange that will spread the message of peace. As the only nation in human history to be bombed with atomic weapons, Japan has complied with its peace constitution and firmly maintained the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, with its strong commitment not to repeat the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan will continue to pursue this stance, and lead the international community to promote nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and devote itself to abolish nuclear weapons through its enhancement of efforts to call on governments for early ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). I would like to conclude my address by offering my heartfelt prayer for the repose of the atomic bomb victims' souls and my best wishes to the atomic bomb survivors and the bereaved families. August 9, 2004 Junichiro Koizumi Prime Minister of Japan