Mayors for Peace adopt 'Nagasaki Appeal'

The 'Nagasaki Appeal' declaration, adopted at the 11th General Conference of Mayors for Peace, strongly urged all signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to take concrete steps to fulfill their obligations under the treaty.

It also included requests for each country to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki said at the conference, "I'm grateful for your sharing the earnest desire of atomic bomb survivors to make Nagasaki the last place to suffer an atomic bombing."

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on the western Japan city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and another on Nagasaki three days later, in the closing days of World War II.

At the conference, joined by representatives from 138 cities in 16 countries, discussions were held on activities to be carried out until the next general meeting, which will be held in Hiroshima in 2029.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, chair of Mayors for Peace, told a press conference on Sunday: "It is becoming increasingly important for cities, which are closest to their citizens, to appeal for peace and take action together with their citizens. We want to spread the values of peace and take strong steps toward realizing a world without nuclear weapons."