6 Japanese Parliamentarians Work for A-Bomb Monument and Museum in Washington, D.C.

Hiroshima Peace Media Center is an institute within Chuogoku Newspaper, which is widely read in the Chugoku Region (Western end of Honshu Island) of Japan. Their "Peace News" covers a wide range of topics from nuclear abolition to peace education. One piece of bright news that I found recently is:

Japanese parliamentarians seek to establish A-bomb museum in Washington, D.C.

The "NPT Promotion Committee" that consists of 6 parliamentarians from different parties, plans to unveil a monument to "express the hope of eliminating nuclear weapons" in next May, when the NPT Review Conference takes place. Also some time in the next year, they aim to open "a permanent museum to convey the consequences of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

Peter van den Dungen, who leads the International Network of Museums for Peace, said during the 6th International Conference of Museums for Peace conference in Hiroshima in October 2009, that he would like to see A-bomb museums in the capital cities of all the nuclear-possessing countries. This move initiated by a group of Japanese parliamentarians will be a great start.

According to Chugoku Newspaper, the six members of the "NPT Promotion Committee" are:

Minoru Terada, LDP (House of Representatives,) 寺田稔（自民、衆院広島５区）
Tsutomu Tomioka, LDP (House of Representatives) 富岡勉（自民、衆院比例九州＝長崎１区）
Hideo Hiraoka, DPJ (House of Representatives) 平岡秀夫（民主、衆院山口２区）
Kenzo Fujisue, DPJ (House of Councilors) 藤末健三（民主、参院比例）
Nobuto Hosaka, SDP(House of Representative) 保坂展人（社民、衆院比例東京）
Akira Kasai, JCP (House of Representative) 笠井亮（共産、比例東京）

LDP=Liberal Democratic Party; DPJ=Democratic Party of Japan; SDJ=Social Democratic Party of Japan; JCP=Japan Communist Party)

Where are the women? I should make an inquiry :)

Satoko