A peace rally was held outside the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles on Aug. 9, the 78thanniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The rally was co-hosted by Pacific Asian Nuclear-Free Peace Alliance and Global Candlelight Action Los Angeles, and was attended by members of Action One Korea, API for CalCare, Nikkei Progressives, Korea Federation of Environmental Movements, Code Pink, Freedom Socialist Party, and other peace groups.
Tsukuru Fors, founder of Pacific Asian Nuclear-Free Peace Alliance, said in a statement, “We are remembering the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and acknowledging that they were not only the victims of the war crime but also of state violence committed against its people by the Japanese government.
“We are expressing our opposition to the planned dumping of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. With the dumping to start later this month and designed to continue for the next 30-40 years, it is another form of nuclear atrocity the government of Japan, along with TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company), is launching against its own people and the world.
“As someone who was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki — a town with a U.S. naval base — and grew up in Hiroshima, I respectfully protest and let my grievances be known.”
The protesters also discussed the health effects of uranium mining and nuclear testing on the indigenous community and safety concerns surrounding Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California’s only remaining nuclear power plant.
Photos by Bawm Kim