Peace Conference in Japan
From June 5 to 11, the Korean American Peace Fund held a 6-day event in Japan at the invitation of three organizations in Korea (Denuclearization Peace Korea-Japan Exchange Visiting Group, International People's Tribunal Executive Committee/Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea, Nuclear Contaminated Water STOP Citizens' March). We returned after visiting 6 cities (Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) and carrying out anti-nuclear movement exchange/solidarity activities. We will provide you with activity news by date.
* June 5th
A non-nuclear peace Korea-Japan exchange visiting group consisting of nine nationals from Korea, the United States, China, Australia (Shin Jun-sik, former member of the Korean Youth Association of Australia), and Japan began its itinerary in Fukuoka. The purpose of the visit is to visit the atomic bomb victims and related organizations and facilities in Fukuoka, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima, and propose (1) an apology from the United States for the use of nuclear weapons and (2) Korea-Japan solidarity and Asia-Pacific solidarity activities to promote the accession to the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It was something to do. Pastor Koichi Kimura, who began learning Korean at the age of 60 to help Korean atomic bomb victims, met us at the airport and accompanied us for most of our week-long itinerary, providing interpretation. The first stop was the Fukuoka Atomic Bomb Victims Association, followed by a meeting at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Victims Association office.
When the Nagasaki Council heard that Koreans were coming, they welcomed us with great care, practicing the song 'Morning Dew' in advance and singing it together. He also mentioned several times that he would repeatedly apologize to the Korean people for Japan's war crimes, and asked them to work together to create a world without nuclear weapons.
* June 6th
We met with Nobuto Hirano, director of the Peace Activity Support Center (former chairman of the National Association for the Liaison of the Second Generation of Radiation Victims), who works in Nagasaki. Director Nobuto has worked hard to seek the rights and interests of Korean hibakusha victims throughout his life, and as a result, he has won a compensation lawsuit filed by Korean hibakusha victims in a Japanese court. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. Next, we visited the Nagasaki Museum for Human Rights and Peace, which stores historical materials on Koreans who were conscripted and became hibakusha. With Pastor Koichi's guidance, we looked at the miserable damage suffered by Koreans when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb.
* June 7th
We arrived in Hiroshima by train. In Hiroshima, Junko Ichiba, a Japanese teacher who works for Korean hibakusha victims, came to meet us. Junko, now 68 years old, first heard about Korean hibakusha at the age of 20, and formed a civic group to help Korean atomic bomb victims, and has been active for the rest of her life. He also published a book called ‘Korea’s Hiroshima’, exposing the unfair situation of Korean atomic bomb victims. This booklet remains a valuable historical resource, being used as a primary source by scholars when conducting research and presentations on Korean atomic bomb victims. The visiting group, along with Ms. Junko, participated in the International People's Tribunal Debate on the Atomic Bomb held at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. On the first day of the debate, a roundtable was held to prepare for the International People's Tribunal on the Atomic Bomb, scheduled to be held in New York in 2026. Korean American Peace Fund gave a presentation on the topic, ‘The anti-war and anti-nuclear movement of the Korean-American community.’ Peace movement groups from around the U.S. and around the world, including Peace Action and Veterans for Peace, participated in the roundtable and expressed their opinions. Following this, Korean American Peace Fund also delivered a memorial speech at the 79th memorial service held in front of the memorial tower for Korean victims in Hiroshima Park. The memorial tower for Korean victims was built in 1970 in a nearby location rather than inside Hiroshima Park, due to opposition from the city government. However, Koreans and conscientious Japanese people fought for 20 years to move the memorial tower, and it was finally moved to Hiroshima Park in 1999.
*June 8th
On the second day of the International People's Tribunal for the Atomic Bomb, I participated in discussions all day long. At the debate, scholars and lawyers presented ways to hold the United States responsible for the atomic bombing. You can see the main content in related articles.
“The threat of nuclear use is illegal... “U.S. extended deterrence must be abolished.”
https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/defense/1145075.html
"US extended deterrence on Korea violates international law, argue experts"
https://english.hani.co.kr/.../e_international/1145388...
[International People's Tribunal for Atomic Bombs①] The dropping of the atomic bomb by the United States in 1945... 100,000 Koreans erased from history
https://news.zum.com/articles/91241407
[International People’s Tribunal for Atomic Bombs②] “The dropping of the atomic bomb by the United States in 1945 was completely illegal under international law.”
https://news.zum.com/articles/91241407
* June 9th
Moving to Osaka, about 2,000 Japanese people took to the streets to participate in a nuclear phase-out rally and march. At the rally on this day, Professor Wonyoung Lee, representative of Korea's STOP Citizens' March on Nuclear Contaminated Water, which is campaigning against the discharge of nuclear contaminated water from Fukushima, gave a speech.
* June 10th
After participating in the press conference for the Nuclear Pollution STOP Citizen's March held at Kyoto City Hall, I moved to Kobe and visited the Korea Culture and Education Center. We heard about the history and current status of Koreans in the region from Director Kim Shin-yong.
* June 11th
We visited the Koreatown Historical Museum in Tsuruhashi, Osaka. We met with director Ko Jeong-ja and heard about the Korean community in Osaka. I was very happy to see Director Go, who had visited the United States in the past and had exchanges with the Young Koreans United, the predecessor of Korean American Peace Fund.
We returned after a valuable week. With this visit, Korean American Peace Fund pledged to do more to support the anti-war and anti-nuclear movement. We have immediately submitted a membership application to ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization that is leading the spread of the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons. We also plan to actively participate in the Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons to be held at the United Nations in March next year and the International People's Tribunal for the Atomic Bomb to be held in 2026. Together with the victims of the atomic bomb, the Korean American Peace Foundation should also do its part to create a world without nuclear weapons.
