Tohishiro Toya, speaking on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, voiced his anger at Donald Trump’s comparison of potential attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites to the atomic bombings of Japan.
“Of course, I feel anger. But if we don’t overcome our anger and strive to eliminate nuclear weapons, nothing will ever change,” he said.
“We, as survivors of the atomic bombings, have endured such deep suffering and pain that we don’t want anyone in any country to go through the same experience. That is why we continue to insist on the need to abolish nuclear weapons.
To fulfill the demands of the victims, regardless of global political debates, we must spread the understanding that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist.”
The attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities was carried out in violation of international law, as Iran’s nuclear activities were under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and safeguarded agreements. However, Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the IAEA, failed to fulfill his legal responsibilities and did not condemn the attack.
In response, Iran announced that it would pursue the matter and that its parliament would suspend cooperation with the agency until further notice.
During a recent NATO meeting held in June in The Hague, the U.S. president equated attacks on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“The attack ended the war. I don’t want, for example, to refer to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but they were equal,” he told reporters.
Trump’s remarks were met with strong criticism, especially from within Japan.
