理事長ごあいさつ

Chairman　Susumu Shirabe

　Allow me to offer my heartfelt gratitude for the tremendous understanding and support that the Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace receives on a regular basis for our peace-related projects.
Our foundation works with Nagasaki City on a wide variety of peace-related projects, including lectures by atomic bombing survivors and guided tours of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and bombing-related sites for students from Nagasaki City and across Japan. We are also entrusted by the government of Japan to manage operations at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims and conduct projects carried out by those of succeeding generations, such as the storyteller project for telling the atomic bombing experiences of relatives and acquaintances. We thereby work to fulfil the earnest wishes of the citizens of Nagasaki for the abolishment of nuclear weapons and the realization of eternal peace.
　In October of 2024, the Japan Confederation of A- and H- Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The importance of the achievements of this organization, which has been appealing to international society about the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons for approximately seventy years since its founding in 1956 and has greatly contributed to the establishment of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, is immeasurable. As a fellow organization similarly engaged in peace activities, this award has greatly inspired us. I hereby express my utmost respect to Nihon Hidankyo for efforts made over the course of many years.
　The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the fighting unfolding in the Middle East have made victims of many civilians. Amidst an increasingly unsettled international political situation, the risk of nuclear weapons being used is more real than ever before. I therefore hope that the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo will substantially move us towards the realization of a world free of nuclear weapons.
　The year 2025 marks the 80th year since the end of the war. For Nagasaki and Hiroshima, this is the milestone 80th year since the atomic bombings.
　At the Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace, we will continue to join forces with Nagasaki City to work for world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons through the establishment of a “Culture of Peace” in civilian society, whereby each and every one of us thinks about, and acts for, peace, and by thinking of ways to expand our peace network. In these endeavors, we sincerely ask for your continued support and cooperation.

April, 2025