Philippines Reaffirms Commitment To A Nuclear Weapons-Free World at the 73rd Nagasaki Peace Ceremony
Ambassador Jose C Laurel V lays a wreath at the cenotaph which marks the exact place where the atomic bomb exploded in Nagasaki on 09 August 1945.
The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo reaffirmed the Philippine Government and Filipino people’s commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons at the 73rd Nagasaki Peace Ceremony on 08 to 09 August 2018 in Nagasaki City, Japan.
Ambassador Jose C. Laurel V, accompanied by Minister and Consul General Robespierre Bolivar and Mme. Maria Aurora Bolivar, participated in the remembrance ceremonies for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city of Nagasaki.
Philippine Embassy officials attended the 73rd Nagasaki Peace Ceremony. From R-L: Ambassador Jose C Laurel V, Minister and Consul General Robespierre Bolivar, Mme. Maria Aurora Bolivar.
The Ambassador and the Embassy delegation paid tribute to the victims of the bombing at the cenotaph erected below the exact location where the atomic bomb exploded on 09 August 1945. The delegation also visited the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, which documents the events surrounding the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city towards the end of World War II, in particular the horrific effects of radiation poisoning on the civilian population.
“Eradicating nuclear weapons should be the goal of every nation. While the Filipino people offer deepest sympathies to the victims of the atomic bombing and their families, the Philippine Government is committed to work to bring about world peace and a world free of nuclear weapons,” the Ambassador stated in an interview with the Japanese press shortly after laying a wreath at the cenotaph.
On 09 August, the 73rd anniversary of the bombing, the Embassy delegation joined Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and members of the Diplomatic Corps at the Nagasaki Peace Park, where ceremonies commemorated the thousands who perished due to the bombing.
Mr. Guterres, the first UN Secretary General to participate at the Nagasaki Peace Ceremony, encouraged the nations represented at the Ceremony to work together to realize the United Nations’ Agenda for Disarmament. He remarked, “No more Nagasaki. No more Hiroshima. Never again!”
In his remarks, Prime Minister Abe reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to the global disarmament agenda. He expressed hope that the recent Summits between the two Koreas and between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) would eventually lead to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Representatives of 71 countries participated in the Peace Ceremony.
At 11:02 AM, the precise moment when the atomic bomb exploded in the skies of Nagasaki, bells tolled throughout the city and participants observed a moment of silence.
The Ceremony was highlighted by a choral presentation by a choir composed exclusively of hibakusha, or the survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing. According to Japanese Government records, there are almost 180,000 hibakusha in Nagasaki who have since passed away. Their names are inscribed in the memorial at ground zero.
Japan is the only country in history to have suffered through an atomic bomb explosion in war-time. More than 150,000 people perished in the immediate aftermath of the atomic bomb explosion in 1945.
