Hibakusha Submit Nuke Abolition Appeal Signed by Over 5 M. to U.N.

New York, Oct. 5 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese group of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors submitted an appeal, with 5,154,866 signatures as of last Friday, for the elimination of nuclear weapons to the United Nations on Thursday. Sueichi Kido, secretary-general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, put forward the signature list at a meeting with U.N. General Assembly First Committee Chair Mohammed Hussein Bahr Aluloom, Iraq's permanent representative to the United Nations, and U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu. The hibakusha group, also known as Nihon Hidankyo, launched the international signature campaign in April 2016 to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. It submitted an initial signature list of 2,963,889 supporters in June this year, ahead of the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at a U.N. conference in July. Kido, 77, expressed appreciation for countries that have signed the nuclear weapons ban treaty, and noted that the elimination of nuclear weapons will lead to the protection of humanity. The U.N. committee chairman praised the hibakusha group's initiative, adding that their efforts will be remembered in next generations. END