Requiescat in Pace

 

Hiroshima, May 27, 2016

It is with profound sadness that I report the death on March 14 of Mr. Shigeaki MORI, 88, of Hiroshima, Japan. As many of you will remember President Barack Obama embraced Mr. Mori who was in the audience for the President's May 27, 2016 remarks at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. The Japanese government included Mr. Mori as a last minute guest to head off the White House's invitation of an American POW (Army Air Corps' Dan Crowley of Connecticut) to the event. 

Mr. Mori, a child victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, spent his adult life successfully identifying the 12 American airmen he witnessed become POWs and who also died in the bombing. See American POWs in Hiroshima. His quest was made into the award-winning documentary, Paper Lanterns. You can watch it for free here. Mr. Mori was a personal friend and we just exchanged New Year's cards.

our last correspondence December 2025

Lessons of War

purchase book

80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings

By Takuya Nishimura, APP Senior Fellow, Former Editorial Writer for The Hokkaido Shimbun.

The views expressed by the author are his own and are not associated with The Hokkaido Shimbun.
You can find his blog, J Update here.
August 11, 2025. Special to Asia Policy Point

This month the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemorated the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in 1945. While the sufferers of the atomic bombs, or hibakusha, aspire to eternal peace without the devastation of nuclear weapons, the gap between their hopes and the reality of world politics has widened. Hibakusha face a challenging task in handing their movement over to next generation, as the sufferers in Hiroshima and Nagasaki pass away.
 
In Hiroshima, in the Declaration of Peace at the Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6, the Mayor, Kazumi Matsui, introduced a story of an unnamed man who was injured by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. “Building a peaceful world without nuclear weapons will demand our never-give-up spirit. We have to talk and keep talking to people who hold opposing views,” Matsui said, quoting words of the hibakusha.
 
That unnamed man is thought to be Sunao Tsuboi who shook hands and had a short conversation with then U.S. President Barack Obama on his visit to Hiroshima in May 2016. “Never give up” is the phrase Tsuboi likes to use in his conversations. He once told me that he came to pursue peace and to hate war. Instead of continuing the resentment he held against America after the end of the war, he realized that retaliation would produce nothing. This principle is commonly held by the hibakusha.
 
Mayor Matsui also warned against a growing perception that “nuclear weapons are essential for national defense,” a view that he and many other believe heightens the risk of the use of these weapons.
 
In Nagasaki, Mayor, Shiro Suzu urged in his Nagasaki Peace Declaration on August 9 for the world to take the path to a peaceful future through dialogue with different people. Suzuki pressed world leaders to end disputes that are based on a principle of “force is met with force.”
 
One event at which the world community seemed to meet the hopes of the hibakusha was the award of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization, or Nihon Hidankyo. The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized that “Nihon Hidankyo has carried out extensive educational work on the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. Hence the motto ‘No more Hibakusha.’”
 
However, the reality of world politics has recently visited more disappointments on the hibakusha. Recognizing that it can use its nuclear weapons stockpile to blackmail Ukraine, Russia has continued its war. Commenters have noticed that the invasion by a country with nuclear weapons of another that abandoned nuclear weapons undermines the international non-proliferation regime. Ukraine gave up its status of the world’s third largest nuclear power with the Budapest Memorandum in 1994.
 
A growing concern among the hibakusha is the fact that the nuclear powers are increasing their involvement in international conflicts. Despite efforts to find a peace deal in the Gaza Strip, Israel – widely thought to have nuclear weapons capability – has continued to destroy cities in the region to eliminate a terrorist organization, Hamas. India and Pakistan, both of which are recognized as nuclear powers, exchanged military strikes in May over a terrorist attack in Kashmir.
 
The hibakusha were astonished that the U.S. conducted air strikes in June on three of Iran’s nuclear sites. Aggravating the situation for the hibakusha was U.S. President Donald Trump’s justification for the attacks on Iran as a means of ending the conflict between Iran and Israel. Trump likened the U.S. attack on Iran to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, characterizing the strikes on Iran as “essentially the same thing.” “Nothing has changed 80 years after the war,” said one of the hibakusha.
 
The survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are also frustrated with the diplomacy of the government of Japan on nuclear non-proliferation. In their peace declarations, Matsui and Suzuki strongly recommended that the government join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, issued by the United Nations in 2017. The Japanese government has routinely rejected that request because Japan is under nuclear umbrella of the U.S.
 
In his speeches at the ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Prime Minister Ishiba stressed Japan’s efforts toward “the world without nuclear weapons” not through the 2017 UN treaty, but the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1970. Ishiba also quoted the Hiroshima Action Plan, a plan first proposed by his predecessor Fumio Kishida in a speech to NPT Review Conference in 2022. The plan would preclude the use of nuclear weapons and enhance the transparency of a country’s nuclear development.
 
When we look at the reality of the hibakusha, they are decreasing year after year. Hibakusha who have kept their copies of the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Handbook, issued by Japanese government, fell below 100,000 in 2024. It means we have fewer and fewer people who can talk about the direct experience of the devastation brought by atomic bombs. How the narratives of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can be passed down to future generations is an important – and unresolved – question.
 
In his peace declaration, Matsui urged young people to think less about themselves and more about each other. “Clearly, nations, too, must look beyond narrow self-interest to consider the circumstances of other nations,” Matsui said. This tenet is grounded in the  preamble to the Constitution of Japan, which states that “no nation is responsible for itself alone.” While Hiroshima’s hope for peace is as fresh as ever, the reality of the world, including that in Japan, looks as if the great tragedy of the atomic bombings has been forgotten.

###

BOOK TALK: RAIN OF RUIN BY RICHARD OVERY. 10/7, 6:30-8:30pm (BST), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsor: Imperial War Museums. Speaker: author Richard Overy, one of Britain’s most distinguished historians. https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/iwm-in-conversation-richard-overy-rain-of-ruin. Fee. PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/45hyoOU

---

POP CULTURE, PROPAGANDA, AND POLITICS: REFLECTIONS ON THE PACIFIC WAR 80 YEARS LATER: 2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 10/17-18, HYBRID. Sponsor: Admiral Nimitz Foundation at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. Speakers: Richard B. Frank, an internationally recognized leading authority on the Asia-Pacific War; Rob Buscher, a film and media specialist; Janet M. Davis, Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Texas at Austin; Dr. Ambyre Ponivas, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and Psychology at Young Harris College in Georgia; Steven Rawle, Professor of Film at York St John University, UK; Henry Sledge is the son of Eugene B. Sledge, author of With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa and China Marine. https://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/education/museum-programs/conference

THE SURRENDER OF JAPAN: ORCHESTRATING THE END OF THE WAR. 9/2, 11:00am-Noon, HYBRID. Sponsor: National WWII Museum. Speaker: Colonel Mike Bell, PhD, Executive Director of the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/events-programs/events/137098-surrender-japan-orchestrating-end-war

2025 CONFERENCE TO HONOR 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF END OF WORLD WAR II. 8/30-9/2. IN PERSON ONLY, Hilton Garden Inn, Arlington, VA. Sponsor: American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Memorial Society. Various presentations on the American POW experience with Imperial Japan. https://www.adbcmemorialsociety.org/

FINALE IN THE PACIFIC: THE ROAD TO JAPAN'S SURRENDER. 8/23, 9:00am. IN PERSON ONLY, MacArthur Memorial Visitor Center, 150 Bank Street, Norfolk, VA. Sponsors: MacArthur Memorial, Military Aviation Museum, and Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Speakers: Military historians Richard B. Frank, author of Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire, D.M. Giangreco, author of Truman and the Bomb: The Untold Story, and Timothy J. Orr, co-author of Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers of the Battle of Midway. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/finale-in-the-pacific-the-road-to-japans-surrender-tickets-1371578601519?aff=oddtdtcreator

80TH ANNIVERSARY END OF WAR SYMPOSIUM. 8/8-9. Sponsor: National WWII Museum-New Orleans. Speakers: Guenter Bischof; Michael Neiberg; John McManus; Craig Symonds; James Scott; John Curatola; Jonathan House; Richard Frank; Jim Zobel; Noriko Kawamura. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/events-programs/events/135816-80th-anniversary-end-war-symposium VIDEO

THE CONTESTED HISTORY OF WORLD WAR TWO: THE HOTTEST FLASHPOINTS TODAY. 8/1. Sponsor: Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. Speakers: M.G. Sheftall, Professor, Modern Japanese Cultural History and Communication, Faculty of Informatics, Shizuoka University; Alexis Dudden, Professor, Department of History, University of Connecticut and Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore; Koichi Nakano, Professor, Political Science, Sophia University.  https://www.fccj.or.jp/news-and-multimedia/press-conference-contested-history-world-war-two-hottest-flashpoints-today-mg VIDEO

Japan's Upper House Elections I

Parties Campaign on Three Policy Differences


By Takuya Nishimura, APP Senior Fellow, Former Editorial Writer for The Hokkaido Shimbun. The views expressed by the author are his own and are not associated with The Hokkaido Shimbun.
You can find his blog, J Update here.
July 7, 2025. Special to Asia Policy Point

Japan’s Upper House election season opened on July 3 with the vote to take place on July 20. This election is overwhelmingly about two issues: support of families suffering from price inflation and international relations, specifically with the United States. In addition, the management of political funds by the leading Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will be front and center for many voters.

Protection against price inflation has largely taken the form of a debate over the consumption tax. Voters are divided over possible measures to reduce price inflation – so the parties have focused on this issue. In an NHK poll in May, 38 percent of respondants favored a consumption tax cut, while just two percent fewer, 36 percent, supported the current consumption tax rate. Eighteen percent wanted to abolish the consumption tax altogether.

Several opposition parties would reduce or eliminate the tax. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) proposes a zero percent consumption tax on food, which is their top priority. The leader of the CDPJ, Yoshihiko Noda, insists that the government can eliminate this part of the consumption tax without an impact on government finances that would compel the issuance of new government bonds.

In a debate featuring party leaders at the Japan National Press Club (JNPC) on July 2, Prime Minister Ishiba (the president of the LDP) asked Noda what financial resources would offset the consumption tax cut. Noda pointed to two areas: the surplus in the governmental funds that are reserved for special policy purposes and the foreign exchange fund special account. Noda also said that other, unspecified tax measures could be revised.

The CDPJ has estimated that eliminating the consumption tax on food would reduce tax revenues by five trillion yen a year. Noda said in February that his party had found a 7.8 trillion-yen surplus in governmental funds. He also argued that much more of the government’s profits in foreign exchange could be included in the government’s general account. And he asserted that the special purpose tax on wage increase would increase the government’s revenues by 0.7 trillion yen. In the CDPJ’s view, all these resources would make a consumption tax cut on food feasible.

Taking a different approach, the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) calls for halving consumption tax rate (from ten percent to five percent) on all goods on a time-limited basis. The cut would continue until the growth in workers’ wages exceeds consumer price inflation. But the party has not identified as specific budgetary resource for this tax reduction as what the CDPJ listed.

The Japan Communist Party (JCP) favors another route: reducing the consumption tax rate on all goods to five percent before taking it to zero. But the party has not announced when the consumption tax will be repealed. Reiwa Shinsengumi, a small party with liberal policies, says that the government can offset these rate cuts by raising other tax rates and issuing government bonds.

The Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai) does not look to the consumption tax rate to protect against the effects of inflation but rather focuses on reducing premium for social insurance.

In lieu of any changes to tax rates, the LDP and Komeito propose to distribute twenty thousand yen to everyone and an additional twenty thousand yen for each child or a low-income family. The parties dismiss consumption tax rate reductions as unviable. To that point, in the debate at the JNPC, the chief representative of Komeito, Tetsuo Saito, asked Noda about what would happen when the government resumes the current consumption tax rate, which in a sense becomes a tax increase. Noda did not provide a clear answer.

Turning to international relations, the opposition parties are critical of Ishiba’s management of foreign affairs. Just a few days before the start of election campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his frustration with the bilateral tariff negotiations between the U.S. and Japan. “Dear Mr. Japan, here’s the story: You’re going to pay a 25 percent on your cars,” said Trump. He also complained about the small amount of Japan’s imports of American rice, particularly given the rice shortage in the Japanese market.

In a mixed message yesterday, July 7, Trump sent a letter to Ishiba, saying that a 25 percent tariff on all Japanese goods would apply on August 1 unless the countries reach an agreement before then. Trump had previously set a deadline of July 9 for the conclusion of tariff negotiations, so his letter extends the negotiating timeline. Interestingly, the deadline is ten days after the election.

In the JNPC debate, Noda asked Ishiba how he planned to resolve these negotiations. Ishiba did not specify a way forward but stressed that Japan’s unique position as the biggest national investor and biggest job creator in the U.S. “The success of Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel means that they can deliver good products with their technology and U.S. Steel’s labor force. I think our position with the U.S. is more about investment than tariffs,” Ishiba said. When Noda recommended another summit talk with Trump as soon as possible, Ishiba simply repeated that he would protect the national interests of Japan.

The Trump administration has demanded that Japan increase its defense budget to cover the costs of expanding its military and of hosting the U.S. Armed Forces in Japan. At the JNPC debate, the Chairwoman of the Japan Communist Party, Tomoko Tamura, observed that a swollen military budget would not be compatible with social security policies. When Ishiba rejected Tamura’s argument for failing to recognize Japan’s security situation, Tamura accused Ishiba of ignoring suffering families.

On another foreign policy note, the debate covered Trump’s recent reference to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Trump compared those events to the recent U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities as tactics that ended a war. (In the case of Iran, a ceasefire would count as an ending.) Ishiba refrained from criticizing Trump. The Chief Representative of Komeito, Tetsuo Saito, rejected the comparison.

The greatest single reason for the LDP’s major defeat in the Lower House election last October was the party’s mismanagement of political funds. That weakness remains. Ishiba failed to reach a consensus with the opposition parties on the regulation of donations from companies and organizations during the ordinary session of the Diet. The issue surely will weigh in the voters’ decision later this month.

The opposition parties have different views on the question of political donations. The Japan Innovation Party urges a total ban on corporate and organizational donations, while the CDPJ would allow donations from some organizations. The DPP fundamentally opposes any ban on donations. As seen in their mistake of fielding multiple candidates in single-seat districts such as Nara, Shiga or Fukui, the fragmentation of the opposition parties may help the LDP.

No Gains for Ishiba in the 12-Day War

But not a “survival-threatening situation"

By Takuya Nishimura, APP Senior Fellow, Former Editorial Writer for The Hokkaido Shimbun.

The views expressed by the author are his own and are not associated with The Hokkaido Shimbun. You can find his blog, J Update here.
June 30, 2025. Special to Asia Policy Point

The military conflict between Israel and Iran, in which the United States became directly involved, has been a real source of anxiety for Japan. Not only did Japan worry about the impact on its economy if Iran moved to block the Strait of Hormuz, but it also had to keep its distance from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The conflict, which the U.S. President Donald Trump has called the 12-day war, reminded Japan about the cost of its alliance with the U.S.
 
Israel launched military attacks on nuclear sites in Iran on June 13 and killed Iranian military leaders. Iran immediately struck back on cities in Israel, including Tel Aviv, causing some deaths. After days of deliberation, Trump launched a military operation on June 21, bombing three nuclear facilities in Iran with a weapon called the “bunker buster.” On June 24, Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, but it has been an uneasy time for both countries.
 
The Ishiba administration criticized Israel for its attack on Iran early in June. “The use of military means amid the ongoing diplomatic efforts, including U.S.-Iran talks aimed at the peaceful resolution of the Iran’s nuclear issue, is completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable,” said the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Takeshi Iwaya, in a statement on June 13.
 
Japan changed its view, however, after the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities. “Amidst the extremely difficult circumstances surrounding Iran’s nuclear issue, the United States has been seriously pursuing dialogue, and Japan understands that the U.S. action demonstrates its determination to de-escalate the situation while preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons,” said Iwaya in another statement on June 23.
 
While Japan regards Israel’s attacks on Iran as a violation of international law, it nevertheless “understood” the U.S. attacks that supported Israel.  Anticipating a push-back from within Japan about a double standard of diplomacy, Ishiba said in a press conference that “it is difficult for us to make a fixed assessment in terms of international law.”
 
Ishiba meanwhile stressed that Japan depended on the Middle East for over 90 percent of its oil imports. According to data from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in 2021, 86.7 percent of Japan’s energy came from fossil fuels, of which 37.7 percent was oil. Middle Eastern crude oil accounted for 92.5 percent of oil supplies in Japan for that year. Oil from the Middle East thus is essential for Japan.
 
The most serious concern in Japan was the possibility that Iran would block the Strait of Hormuz, through which most Middle East oil tankers pass. When former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reinterpreted Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan in 2015, his administration said that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would constitute a ” triggering Japan’s collective self-defense right.
 
If Iran were to block the strait, if the U.S. were to ask Japan to send minesweepers, and if Japan were to do so, Iran could claim that Japan had entered the war. In a discussion on June 23 of this risk, the Chief of the Policy Research Council of the Liberal Democratic Party (and formerly the Minister of Defense in the Abe Cabinet), Itsunori Onodera, concluded that the situation in the strait did not yet threaten Japan’s survival for the purpose of Article 9.   
 
Also on June 23, the Israel-Iran conflict caused a rise in gasoline prices in Japan for the first time in nine weeks. The opposition parties showed unusual unity in pushing for gasoline tax reductions at the last moment of the ordinary session of the Diet. If the prices remain high in the coming weeks, it may have a negative political impact on the Ishiba administration, with the Upper House election scheduled for late July.
 
Recognizing the possibility that the conflict could affect Japan’s security, Ishiba was reluctant to become involved in the politics among the Western powers. He cancelled the leaders’ meeting of NATO in the Hague, Netherlands, as other Asian partners from South Korea, Australia, New Zealand also withdrew. Although NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Trump’s decision to strike Iran, Japan was not ready to stand together with the U.S. President who had been demanding that Japan significantly increase its defense budget.
 
Trump unexpectedly drew a parallel between the U.S. strikes on Iran and the atomic bombing of Japan in August 1945. “I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war,” said Trump at his meeting with Rutte.
 
The Chief Representative of Komeito, Tetsuo Saito, decried Trump’s remarks. “I do not approve of his statement, which would justify dropping atomic bombs. Our stance on nuclear weapons is that it is an absolute evil,” Saito told Ishiba. Ishiba said that he felt the same way.  Developments in the Middle East have only underscored Ishiba’s political weakness.  Ishiba has been unable to gain any political advantage from Trump’s agenda for peace through strength.

Asia Policy Monday Events, March 17, 2025

NAVIGATING THE ARCTIC–A GEOSTRATEGIC FRONTIER FOR THE U.S., JAPAN, AND PARTNERS. 3/17, 10:00-11:30am (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsor: Stimson. Speakers: Dr. Gaëlle Rivard Piché, Strategic Analyst with Defence Research and Development Canada; Captain Takahiro Ishihara, Ret. Captain of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force; Rear Admiral Lars Saunes, Ret. Rear Admiral, Norway, Professor, Distinguished International Fellow at the US Navy War College. 

DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING DAMAGES FAVORABLE U.S. IMAGE AMONG GLOBAL PUBLIC: IMPLICATIONS FOR ASIA. 3/17, Noon–1:30pm (EDT). IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsor: Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto. Speaker: Yusaku Horiuchi, Professor of Government and Mitsui Professor of Japanese Studies, Dartmouth College. 

KOREAN PENINSULA UPDATE WITH THE NK NEWS TEAM. 3/17, Noon (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsor: Korea Society. Speakers: Chad O'Carroll, Chief Executive Officer, Korea Risk Group; Jeongmin Kim, Lead Correspondent, NK News, Editorial Director, Korea Pro; Colin Zwirko, Senior Analytic Correspondent, NK News; Shrey as Reddy, Lead Correspondent, NK News. 

REWRITING THE NARRATIVE ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS. 3/17, 12:30-2:00pm (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsor: Nuclear Threat Initiative (NIT). Speakers: Joan Rohlfing, President and Chief Operating Officer, NTI; Dr. Emma Belcher, President, Ploughshares; Ravi Garla, Strategic Communications Consultant, NTI.

BOOK TALK: RAIN OF RUIN: TOKYO, HIROSHIMA, AND THE SURRENDER OF JAPAN. 3/17, 3:00-4:30pm (EDT). VIRTUAL. Sponsor: History and Public Policy Program, Wilson Center; American Historical Association. Speakers: Richard Overy, Professor of History, University of Exeter, author of Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan. PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/40VNKVA

BOOK TALK: BEING KOREAN, BECOMING JAPANESE?: NATIONHOOD, CITIZENSHIP, AND RESISTANCE IN JAPAN. 3/17, 4:00-5:30pm (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsor: University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies. Speaker: author Hwaji Shin, Professor of Sociology, University of San Francisco, fmr. Toyota Visiting Professor, University of Michigan. PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/4izPL1b 

What did the G7 achieve?

 A World Still with Nuclear Weapons

By Takuya Nishimura, Editorial Writer, The Hokkaido Shimbun
The views expressed by the author are his own and are not associated with The Hokkaido Shimbun
May 22, 2023
 
As the chair of the Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima Summit, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that he would use the summit to pave the way to “a world without nuclear weapons.” Although the Leaders’ Communiqué did include those specific words, the G7 leaders did not provide a way to implement of this goal. This leaves one wondering what Kishida did achieve with this high-profile international engagement.
 
The document for nuclear disarmament, called the Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament, was issued a day before the Communiqué. It unequivocally declared the indispensability of nuclear weapons in the context of nuclear deterrence. The G7 thus continue to contemplate a world where nuclear weapons still exist. Those who suffered the nuclear bombs, or the Hibakusha, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were deeply disappointed by how ineffective Kishida had been.
 
While underscoring the importance of the 77-year record of non-use of nuclear weapons, the Hiroshima Vision firmly accuses Russia of its “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, undermining of arms control regimes, and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.” With these and other strong words denouncing Russia’s rhetoric, the Vision statement follows: “Our security policies are based on the understanding that nuclear weapons, for as long as they exist, should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent wars and coercion.”
 
This document, made under the leadership of Kishida, conditionally recognized the role of nuclear weapons without showing any clear roadmap to the world without nuclear weapons. The G7 fundamentally reject the work of Hibakushas. Coming through hardships of losing loved ones, being threatened by the fear of cancer, or discrimination from the fellow citizens, Hibakushas define nuclear weapons as “absolute evil” that kill too many people immediately. Their use can never be justified.
 
The Hiroshima Vision ironically justifies nuclear weapons as a countermeasure to Russian aggression in Ukraine and nuclear saber-rattling. Thus, to 91-year-old atomic bomb survivor, Setsuko Thurlow, the G7 Summit was a “huge failure,” as stated in her press conference on Sunday, May 21. The International Campaign to Abolish NuclearWeapons (ICAN), the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize winner, stated that the G7 fell “far short of providing any meaningful outcomes for nuclear disarmament.”

Mostly ignoring the backlash from the Hibakushas, Kishida said at his post-summit press conference that he was satisfied with the outcome of the G7 Hiroshima Summit. “We shared an ideal for the future of the world without a nuclear weapon.” Recognizing appeals from nuclear-suffered cities, Kishida considers Hiroshima Vision the basis for future actions to attain a world without nuclear weapons. Kishida viewed the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Hiroshima as a chance to deliver further a message against threats to use nuclear weapons.
 
Although the G7 Summit was a stage to show that the G7 leaders stand together with Zelenskyy and to condemn Russia for its aggression against international law and order, inviting the Ukrainian president at war nevertheless was questionable. Hiroshima’s significance is as a place once devastated by a nuclear weapon and of the Hiroshima people’s hope for unconditional peace, not war at any cost.
 
After laying flowers at the cenotaph to A-bomb victims, Zelenskyy reflected that “Photographs of ruins of Hiroshima absolutely remind me of Bakhmut and other similar settlements.” For the people in Hiroshima who believe in the principle of “war is not the answer,” the sympathetic comment of Zelenskyy might have brought a sense of discomfort to them.
 
Obviously, Zelenskyy’s purpose in visiting Hiroshima was to continue and win the war with as much support as possible from the G7. U.S. President Joe Biden told Zelenskyy that the US would start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets. In a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who is regarded as a key for anti-Russia groups to reach the countries called “global south,” conveyed his clear support for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward. Hiroshima had become the place where world leaders were seen deeply engaged in Ukraine’s war strategy.
 
For Kishida who has been promoting his positive pro-active security policies, the appearance of the Ukrainian president must have been a good opportunity to trumpet the “success” of policies to domestic audiences. In the meeting with Zelenskyy, Kishida pledged Japanese assistance by sending trucks and provisions and accepting injured Ukrainian military personnel in the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital in Tokyo. The Kishida administration is likely to insist that current budget request for security measures or positive involvement in maintaining world order has been necessary.
 
In terms of dealing with China’s advances in Asia-Pacific region, the G7 summit produced some positive outcomes. Zelenskyy’s attendance reinforced the ties of democratic nations. In the outreach meeting attended by the G7 leaders, eight guests and Zelenskyy, Kishida stressed that coercive and unilateral change of status quo would not be tolerated anywhere in the world. It is necessary, he said, to protect free and open world order based on the rule of law.
 
The G7 Leaders’ Communiqué, in contrast to its message to Russia, was toward China, calling on engagement with G7 and recommending “de-risking” for economic resilience instead of decoupling from China. Yet, the leaders of four major powers in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, United States, India, and Australia (meeting as the quadrilateral security dialog or QUAD), also issued a statement that opposed “destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” a suggestion that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be unacceptable.
 
Inevitably, Japan will have to deal with further pressure from China. Kishida’s inability to make progress on nuclear disarmament among his peers at the G7 Summit does not engender much confidence on how well he can pursue this. To date, Kishida has yet to offer a concrete vision for a meaningful dialogue with China. By following along with the G7's support of Ukraine and deterrence, Kishida set aside Japan's priority to stabilize the situation in Northeast Asia. China reacted against the G7 Communique with "strong dissatisfaction." It is possible that Kishida has raised the tension in Northeast Asia by introducing the structure of hostility in the Eastern Europe.

Monday Asia Events August 3 2020

click to order

GLOBAL WEBINAR: WHY THE ATOMIC BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA WOULD BE ILLEGAL TODAY. 10:00am (CT), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist. Speakers: Scott Sagan, Political Scientist, Stanford University, Member, Bulletin’s Science and Security Board; Allen Weiner, International Legal Scholar, Stanford University; Sara Kutchesfahani, Director, N Square DC Hub, Bulletin columnist. 

TECH WARS, THE LIBERAL ORDER AND THE RISE OF CHINA. 5:30pm (IST), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor:  Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Speakers: Elsa B. Kania, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Technology and National Security Program, Center for a New American Security; James Andrew Lewis, Senior Vice President and Director, Technology Policy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

ASEAN FORUM 2020: RESPONSES TO COVID-19. 8/3, 9:00pm - 8/13, 5:00pm (EDT), WEBINAR. Sponsor: New York Southeast Asia Network (NYSEAN); University of Sydney. Speaker: Dr. Thushara Dibley, University of Sydney; Gregory Fox, Associate Professor, University of Sydney; Jeff Neilson, Associate Professor, University of Sydney; Dr. Sandra Seno-Alday, University of Sydney; Dr. Aim Sinpeng, University of Sydney.

Monday in Washington June 11, 2018

SPACE TECHNOLOGY FOR A SMART AND RESILIENT ARCTIC. 6/11, 8:30-11:30am. Sponsor: Wilson Center (WWC). Speakers: Dr. Mike Sfraga, Director, Polar Initiative, Wilson Center; H.E. Kåre R. Aas, Ambassador of Norway to the United States of America; Dr. Mike Sfraga, Director, Polar Initiative, Wilson Center; Mr. Ole Øvretveit, Director, Arctic Frontiers; Professor Michael Byers, University of British Columbia; Mr. Sean Helfrich, Office of Satellite and Product Operations, NOAA; Mr. Eirik Sivertsen, Chair, Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic (SCPAR); Mr. Rolf Skatteboe, CEO, Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT); Mr. Rune Sandbakken, Head, Satellite Communications, Norwegian Space Centre; Ms. Nettie LaBelle-Hamer, Director, Alaska Satellite Facility; Mr. Douglas May, Arctic Council Task Force on Improved Connectivity, U.S. State Department; Ms. Tina Pidgeon, Vice President, GCI; Mr. Mead Treadwell, Chair, Iridium Polar Advisory Board; Mr. Geir Westgaard, Vice President Political & Public Affairs, Equinor; Senator Lisa Murkowski, United States Senator for Alaska & Mr. Eirik Sivertsen, Chair, Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic (SCPAR).

CHINESE ECONOMIC COERCION AND POTENTIAL U.S. RESPONSES. 6/11, 9:30-11:30am. Sponsor: Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Speakers: Dr. Daniel W. Drezner, Professor of International Politics, The Fletcher School Tufts University; Bonnie S. Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Peter Harrell, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Energy, Economics & Security Program Center for a New American Security; Michael Hirson, Director, Asia Eurasia Group. Moderator: Elizabeth Rosenberg, Senior Fellow and Director, Energy, Economics & Security Program Center for a New American Security.

AVOIDING NUCLEAR WAR—A DISCUSSION WITH THE MAYOR OF HIROSHIMA. 6/11, 10:00­-11:30am. Sponsor: Carnegie. Speakers: Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima; Jon Wolfsthal, Director, Nuclear Crisis Group. Moderator: James L. Schoff, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie.

CARBON REMOVAL IN THE CLIMATE RESPONSE PORTFOLIO. 6/11, 10:00am-Noon, Breakfast, Washington, DC. Sponsor: National Press Club. Speakers: Sally Benson, Co-Director, Precourt Institute for Energy, Professor, School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University; Katharine Mach, Senior Research Scientist, School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University; Daniel Sanchez, AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow; Bob Perciasepe, President of the Center for Climate Energy Solutions (C2ES); Moderators: Chris Field, Perry L. McCarty Director, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment; Melvin and Joan Lane, Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Stanford University. 

US-CHINA ECONOMIC RELATIONS: FROM CONFLICT TO SOLUTIONS. 6/11, 10:45am-1:30pm, Webcast. Sponsor: PIIE. Speakers: Chad P. Bown, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, PIIE; Joseph E. Gagnon, Senior Fellow, PIIE; Dr. Guan Tao, Senior Fellow, China Finance 40 Forum (CF40); Ha Jiming, CF40; Dr. Jin Zhongxia, Executive Director for China, IMF; Nicholas R. Lardy, Anthony M. Solomon Senior Fellow, PIIE; Adam S. Posen, President, PIIE.

A CONVERSATION WITH VINCENT DEVITO. 6/11, Noon-1:00pm. Sponsor: Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Speakers: David Livingston, Deputy Director for Climate and Advanced Energy, Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council; Vincent DeVito, Counselor to the Secretary for Energy Policy, US Department of the Interior; Moderators: Vincent DeVito, Counselor to the Secretary for Energy Policy, US Department of the Interior; Cynthia Quarterman, Distinguished Fellow, Atlantic Council Global Energy Center.

RECOVERING THE NATIONAL MEMORY: THE QUEST FOR PRE-COLONIAL FILIPINO PAST. 6/11, 3:00-4:30pm. Sponsors: Library of Congress; Sentro Rizal Washington DC; Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines. Speaker: Hon. Virgilio Almario, Chairman and National Artist, Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

RUSSIAN ACTIVE MEASURES: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. 6/11, 5:00-6:30pm. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Michael Hayden, Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency; John J. Hamre, President and CEO, CSIS; Seth G. Jones, Harold Brown Chair, CSIS, Author of A Covert Action: Reagan, the CIA, and the Cold War Struggle in Poland; Moderator: Bob Schieffer, Trustee, CSIS; Heather Conley, Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic, Director, Europe Program, CSIS.

Remembering American POWs killed at Hiroshima

May 28th, 2018. MEMORIAL DAY POW PLAQUE UNVEILING IN LOWELL, MA HONORING AMERICAN POWS OF JAPAN. Centralville Veterans dedicate a new plaque honoring the 12 Americans killed in and from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. The new memorial joins the nine others in the park, which collectively display the names of over 3,000 service members. Special guests will be Mr. and Mrs. Shigeaki Mori from Japan, the subject of the documentary film, Paper Lanterns, that recounts Mr. Mori’s 35-year quest to identify the American POW aviators who perished and to notify their families. Mr. Mori was the Hiroshima survivor that President Barack Obama hugged at his speech in Hiroshima. The families and friends of two of the POWs he identified--Normand Brissette, U.S. Navy and Ralph Neal, USAAC--will be at the ceremony. The event will begin at 9:00AM. Location: Centralville Memorial Park, 700 Aiken Street, Lowell, MA 01850, at the intersection of Aiken and Ennell Streets, at the foot of Aiken Bridge, MAP  
PRESS RELEASE

PAPER LANTERNS: FILM SCREENING. 5/24, 7:00–9:00pm, San Francisco, CA. Sponsor: Asian Art Museum. Speakers: The film’s subject, Mr. Shigeaki Mori, a Japanese historian and atomic bomb survivor, who spent 35 years finding the families of 12 American POWs who perished during the Hiroshima bombing. Location: Asian Art Museum, Samsung Hall, 200 Larkin Street.

PAPER LANTERNS: FILM SCREENING. 5/25, 6:00–7:30pm, Mountain View, CA. Sponsor: Community School of Music and Arts. Speakers: The film’s subject, Mr. Shigeaki Mori, a Japanese historian and atomic bomb survivor, who spent 35 years finding the families of 12 American POWs who perished during the Hiroshima bombing. Location: Community School of Music and Arts, 230 San Antonio Circle.

PAPER LANTERNS: FILM SCREENING. 5/30, 7:30–9:15pm, Boston, MA. Sponsor: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Speakers: The film’s subject, Mr. Shigeaki Mori, a Japanese historian and atomic bomb survivor, who spent 35 years finding the families of 12 American POWs who perished during the Hiroshima bombing. Location: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Harry and Mildred Remis Auditorium (Auditorium 161), Avenue of the Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue.

Monday in Washington April 24, 2017

REFLECTING ON TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS. 4/24, 9:00am-Noon. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: Darrell M. West, Vice President, Director, Governance Studies, Founding Director, Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings; Susan Hennessey, Fellow, Governance Studies, Managing Editor, Lawfare; Leon Wieseltier, Isaiah Berlin Senior Fellow in Culture and Policy, Foreign Policy, Governance Studies; Benjamin Wittes, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Editor-in-chief, Lawfare; Louise M. Sheiner, Policy Director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings; Philip A. Wallach, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies; Vanessa Williamson, Fellow, Governance Studies; William A. Galston, Ezra K. Zilkha Chair, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies; John Hudak, Deputy Director, Center for Effective Public Management, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies; Elaine Kamarck, Founding Director, Center for Effective Public Management, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies; Nicol Turner-Lee, Fellow, Governance Studies, Center for Technology Innovation; Moderators: Shane Harris, Senior Writer, Wall Street Journal; Ben Casselman, Senior Editor, Chief Economics Writer, FiveThirtyEight; Karen Tumulty, National Political Correspondent, Washington Post.

A CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE AIIB. 4/24, 11:00am. Sponsor: Atlantic Council. Speakers: Hon. Jin Liqun, President, Chairman, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); Frederick Kempe, President, CEO, Atlantic Council; Moderator: Olin Wethington, Senior Fellow, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, Atlantic Council.

THE FRAGMENTATION OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND US-RUSSIA RELATIONS. 4/24, 11:30am-12:30pm. Sponsor: Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasia Studies (IERES), PONARS Eurasia, Elliott School, GWU. Speakers: Rawi Abdelal, Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management, Harvard Business School, Director, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies; Igor Makarov, Associate Professor of World Economy and International Affairs, Higher School of Economics, National Research University, Moscow.

WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT & SEXUAL HEALTH: A CONVERSATION WITH LILIANNE PLOUMEN, DUTCH MINISTER FOR FOREIGN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION. 4/24, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsors: Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University; The Global Women’s Institute, George Washington University. Speaker: Lilianne Ploumen, Dutch Minister, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.

DISCUSSION ON CHINESE OUTBOUND INVESTMENT & U.S LEADERSHIP IN GLOBAL ECONOMIC AFFAIRS WITH SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN. 4/24, Noon-2:00pm. Sponsor: German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). Speakers: Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senate; Rod Hunter, Partner, Baker & Mckenzie LLP; Robert J. Shapiro, Chairman, Sonecon; Daniel Twining, Counselor and Director, Asia, GMF. Location: SD-G50. Contact: Danielle Piatkiewicz, GMF Asia Program Coordinator.

click to order

BOOK TALK: BY MORE THAN PROVIDENCE, BY MICHAEL GREEN. 4/24, 12:30-1:30pm. Sponsor: Global Taiwan Institute (GTI). Speaker: Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President, Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC, Chair, Modern and Contemporary Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, Asian Affairs, National Security Council Staff.

THE LONG WAR IN AFGHANISTAN AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. 4/24, 12:30-2:00pm. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: H.E. Hamdullah Mohib, Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United States; H.E. Anwar ul Haq Ahady, Former Minister of Finance and of Transportation and Commerce, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; Vanda Felbab-Brown, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence; Moderator: Michael E. O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Director of Research, Foreign Policy, Co-Director, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Sydney Stein, Jr. Chair, Brookings.

NORTH KOREA’S GULAG: ADDRESSING AN ONGOING HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY. 4/24, 1:00-4:00pm. Sponsors: Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK); GW THiNK; North Korea Freedom Coalition (NKFC). Speakers: Greg Scarlatoiu, Executive Director, HRNK; Jason West, Graduate President, GW THiNK; Suzanne Scholte, Chair, NKFC, Co-Vice-Chair, HRNK; Rosa Park, Director of Programs, Editor, HRNK; Roberta Cohen, Co-Chair Emeritus, HRNK; Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair, AEI, Board Member, HRNK; Anthony Ruggiero, Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; Moderator: Suzanne Scholte, Chair, NKFC and Co-Vice-Chair, HRNK, North Korean escapee delegation.

DEMINING WAR ZONES: OPENING SPACE FOR BUILDING PEACE. 4/24, 1:00-5:30pm. Sponsor: United States Institute of Peace. Speakers: Joseph Pennington, Deputy Assistant Secretary, State for Iraq, U.S. Department of State; Daniel Avila, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Colombia, Former Director, Colombian Demining Authority, U. S. Department of State; Sorin Ducaru, Assistant Secretary General, Emerging Security Challenges, NATO; Ken Rutherford, Director, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery, James Madison University; Jerry Guilbert, Deputy Director for Programs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, U.S. Department of State; Agnès Marcaillou, Director, U.N. Mine Action Service; Virginia Bouvier, Senior Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace; Maj-Gen James Cowan, CEO, HALO Trust; Mark Swayne, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Defense for Stability & Humanitarian Affairs, U. S. Department of Defense; Maj-Gen Michael Rothstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State,  U. S. Department of State; Carla Koppell, Vice President, Applied Conflict Transformation, U. S. Institute of Peace. Moderator: Paul Hughes, Special Advisor and Director, Overseas Safety and Security, U.S. Institute of Peace; Ken Rutherford, Director, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery, James Madison University; Steven Costner, Deputy Director, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, U.S. Department of State.

EXTREMISM IN SOUTH ASIA: NEW WAYS TO RESPOND? 4/24, 1:30-3:00pm. Sponsor: United States Institute of Peace. Speakers: Farid Senzai, Founder and President, Center for Global Policy; Ali Mohammad Ali, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Policy; Kamran Bokhari, Director for Political Affairs, Center for Global Policy; Susan Hayward, Senior Advisor, Religion & Inclusive Societies, U.S. Institute of Peace; Iman Malik, Consultant, The World Bank Group. Moderator: Scott Worden, Director, Afghanistan and Central Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace.

RUSSIA'S TURN TO THE EAST. 4/24. 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: US-Asia Institute. Speakers: Jeffrey Mankoff, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS; Stephen Blank, Senior Fellow, American Foreign Policy Council, Emma Chanlett-Avery, Specialist in Asian Affairs, Congressional Research Service.

click to order

GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL AND THE ATOMIC BOMB. 4/24, 4:00-5:30pm. Sponsor: History and Public Policy Program, Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, Woodrow Wilson Center (WWC). Speaker: Eric Arnesen, Fellow, Professor of History, GWU; Moderator: CHristian F. Ostermann, Director, History and Public Policy Program, Cold War International History Project, North Korea Documentation Project, Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, WWC.

AVOIDING WAR WITH CHINA. 4/24, 4:30-6:00pm. Sponsor: Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies, Elliott School, GWU. Speaker: Author Amitai Etzioni, Professor of International Affairs, Director, Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies, GWU.