This year marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the only country to have suffered nuclear atrocity in war and as the home of atomic bombing survivors, or hibakusha, who continue to bear witness to the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, Japan is expected to play a leading role in preventing the growing threat of nuclear war and achieving a nuclear-free world. As a key initiative, Japanese civil society, led by A-bomb survivors, has strongly urged the Japanese government to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) or at least become an observer state. Although the government claimed to have seriously considered this possibility, Japan was absent from the Third Meeting of States Parties of the TPNW held at UN Headquarters earlier this month.
