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*April 20 postscript

Last weekend, it was announced that they are on track to realize the main request of this petition, which is to have the G7 leaders visit the Peace Memorial Museum and meet atomic bomb survivors directly. However, the specific tour route and visiting hours of the Peace Memorial Museum have not been clarified yet. We are truly afraid of the testimonies of atomic bomb survivors being left unheard and the exhibitions at the museum being seen as a thing of the past, not being compared to the present at all. Moreover, we are deeply concerned about the content of the message sent from Hiroshima by the leaders of the G7 countries.

Based on what we have seen and heard, we wholeheartedly hope that the leaders of each country will abolish nuclear weapons and review their security policies. Consequently, we will continue this petition until just before the G7 Hiroshima Summit is held as we scheduled. Furthermore, on May 12th (Friday), we are planning to submit the signatures again to the G7 Hiroshima Summit Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by e-mail. We strongly appreciate your cooperation.

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We are Yuna Okajima, a third-year high school student living in Hiroshima Prefecture, and Miharu Obayashi, a third-year junior high school student living in Kanagawa Prefecture. (Our further introduction is written at the end of this article.)

We hope the G7 Hiroshima Summit, which will be held from May 19th to 21st, 2023, to not be just a momentary event, but rather an influential one. Consequently, we launched a group called "U20s who hope to succeed at the G7 Hiroshima Summit" and started an online petition. (U20 means under 20 years old. )

We, the "U20s who hope to succeed at the G7 Hiroshima Summit" wholeheartedly request these 2 points to be realized at this summit. 

① <Meet> Please listen to testimonies from atomic bomb survivors directly and let it become an opportunity for the abolition of nuclear weapons. 

② <Learn> Please take plenty of time to visit the Peace Memorial Museum and see the exhibition seriously. 

It would be highly appreciated if you could read the following sentences and you could sympathize with our thoughts. Each signature will responsibly be submitted to the G7 Hiroshima Summit Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassies of the G7 countries. 

Thank you so much for your cooperation.

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From May 19th to 21st, 2023, the G7 Summit will be held in Hiroshima Prefecture, with the presence of France, the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy, as well as the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. 

At this summit, G7 leaders discuss global issues such as the climate crisis, gender inequality, and nuclear proliferation. (Prime Minister's Office of Japan)

We are taking this G7 Hiroshima Summit very seriously since the leaders of countries that rely on security policies using nuclear weapons are gathering in Hiroshima, which is the city where the atomic bomb was dropped. 

This is because whether the world's remaining nuclear weapons, which is said to be approximately 13,000, will be used again or will be abolished will greatly depend on the leaders gathered there in Hiroshima. 

We are convinced that this summit, which will be held in an atomic-bombed city for the first time in history, must become a major turning point that contributes to the realization of the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida once said that he decided to hold the summit in Hiroshima, saying, "There is no better place to show our commitment to peace than Hiroshima." (Asahi newspaper, May 24th, 2022)

Then, what does “commitment to peace” mean for Prime Minister Kishida?

We do not believe that a “commitment to peace” is just simply the G7 leaders gathering in the atomic-bombed cities, taking pictures, and having discussions. 

We strongly believe that each leader should understand the true devastation and endless suffering caused by the use of nuclear weapons, and make new actions for discussions to the abolition of nuclear weapons. Moreover, we think that this will be called a “commitment to peace” for the very first time.  

Therefore, we greatly urge the following to be realized at the G7 Hiroshima Summit. 

① Please hear testimonies from atomic bomb survivors directly and let it become an opportunity for the abolition of nuclear weapons. 

When I, Okajima, was in the second year of junior high school, I heard testimony directly from an atomic bomb survivor for the first time. Even now, I still remember the days I cried loudly and made up my mind that taking action for the abolition of nuclear weapons was my duty. 

In fact, some people say that this summit will be the last opportunity for the world’s leaders to meet atomic bomb survivors while they are still alive in Hiroshima.

However, it is not yet clear whether the G7 leaders are meeting with atomic bomb survivors.  

Only atomic bomb survivors know what will happen once nuclear weapons are used. The people who had experienced the inconceivable pain, and distressful suffering and know the traumatic reality are only atomic bomb survivors.  

• The days when their skins were scalded all over, just like blackened burned bread. 

• The days when rumors of "Children of *Pikadon give birth to demons" were spread in their neighborhood, suffering from severe prejudice. Even losing the freedom to marry. 

*Pikadon means atomic bomb in Japanese. 

Atomic bomb survivors say, "I don’t want anyone to suffer as we did again" and dig up their traumatic memories that are painful for them to remember, in order to let us hear their valuable testimony. We are convinced that it is outrageous to discuss the abolition of nuclear weapons without listening to their invaluable testimonies. 

We highly request this summit for G7 leaders to interact with atomic bomb survivors not just as G7 leaders but as human beings. And we truly urge them to listen to the precious appeals they can only hear now, to engrave them in their heart, and lead to discussions.

② Please take plenty of time to visit the Peace Memorial Museum.

This January, the consent of President Biden of the United States has been obtained, and it is reported that there is a high possibility that the leaders of each country will visit the Peace Memorial Museum. (Chugoku Shimbun, January 24th, 2023)

*Chugoku Shimbun is a newspaper company based in Hiroshima

Despite this, when President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima in 2016, the time he spent visiting the museum was only "10 minutes".

It was a true honor to have the incumbent president of the United States to visit the atomic-bombed city.

But still, we can not accept the reality of spending only 10 minutes in the museum, where we can learn the true dreadfulness of nuclear weapons. 

The museum has many exhibits that remind us of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. 

• A photograph of a person lying limp with severe heat-ray burns all over his body.
• A blouse that is so ragged that even if you just pick it up, it almost gets torn off.
• A heart-touching letter that was sent by an atomic-bombed sister to her brother, in order to cheer her brother up after suffering from evacuation.
• A diary of the survivor describing in detail the symptoms of the atomic bomb, such as hematemesis, hair loss, and severe fatigue. 

It takes a reasonable amount of time to observe each of them, learn about the reality of the atomic bombing, and imagine it. 

Furthermore, all the exhibits and spectacle that are seen across the museum is by no means a thing of the past. 

In recent years, there are many nuclear weapons in the world that are thousands of times more powerful than the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Depending on the choice of the leaders of countries with nuclear weapons or their allies, a far greater tragedy than Hiroshima and Nagasaki can easily be repeated. 

It is not yet clear how many G7 leaders will visit the museum, or even how long they are going to look around the museum. 

We strongly urge the G7 leaders to visit the Peace Memorial Museum carefully and realize the terror of the world where nuclear weapons and human beings coexist, and most importantly, and act for the abolition of atomic bombs. 

In conclusion, we wholeheartedly hope for this year’s G7 Hiroshima Summit to not end with a mere "performance", but to hold substantive discussions and become a meaningful summit that shows a concrete path toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.

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U20s who hope to succeed at the G7 Hiroshima Summit

< Yuna Okajima >

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, and will be a first-year university student this April. When she was in elementary school, she found out that her relative had died in the atomic bombing, and through the influence of an acquaintance, she began to get interested in peace activities. Since her second year of junior high school, she has been working as a "Chugoku Shimbun Junior Writer" for the local Chugoku Shimbun, writing articles on the atomic bombing and peace. This January, she became a member of Hiroshima Youth Voters Who Want to Know About Nuclear Policy (Kakunaka Hiroshima)

< Miharu Obayashi >

When she was in the second grade of elementary school, she moved to Texas, U.S., and returned to Japan when she was in sixth grade. After returning to Japan, she suffered from the culture shock between Japan and the United States, but was able to find the sense of belonging by participating in the "Personalization Project". It was through this project that Miharu and Yuna met.