Peace Boat with 130 A-bomb survivors in Cuba to denounce nuclear arms

wow there are still 130 survivors from WW2?

Next, they will sail to the straits of Hormuz to take their anti-nuke message to Iran, which has promised to "wipe out" other countries.

Of course, they will, because they are not hypocrits, and they are really concerned about nuclear arms......

Or will they?

This is all well and good, but they should have a sister ship travelling around the world explaining why they were victims of an atomic bomb and apologizing for the atrocities committed by Japan in the first half of last century. The victim card is wearing pretty thin!

wow there are still 130 survivors from WW2?

From March 2011

40 percent of the A-bomb survivors are still alive today and 80 percent of those exposed before age 20 are in that group.

http://www.science20.com/news_articles/atomic_bomb_survivors_hiroshima_and_nagasaki_how_they_fared-77661

The Peace Boat is a Tokyo-based non-governmental organization that has sponsored global voyages each year since 1983 to speak publicly about the dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, and to promote peaceful conflict resolution.

Me thinks this boat needs to come to Tokyo Bay and talk to the folks in the government about the "dangers of nuclear energy"

I think it's a bit hypocritical for a Japanese NGO to be parading around the world when they have yet to clean up their own backyard.

Too much money in their bank accounts. Just stay there.

I wonder if the Cuban government would welcome 9/11 survivors to denounce terrorism.

@Disillusioned

I think you are having some trouble differentiating between the Imperial Japanese forces and the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Please understand they were not the same people (allowing for the fact some people present at the bombings would have been in the military, there were also civillians, many of them children)

Also please take into account that these people are promoting peace. The Imperial forces were promoting war.

I can't explain it any simpler than that but if you're still having difficulty grasping the concept, how about browsing through Wikipedia and learning a little history?

The Japanese Peace Boat has a crew from across the globe and across religions. A good Muslim friend was on last years cruise.

The Peace Boat is truly an international venture just run out of Japan.

Sure. Point of going to see Fidel to discuss? And seems like the radiation wasn't that harmful if so mangy still alive........

Watch your back in Cuba

@ReformedBasher

Also please take into account that these people are promoting peace. The Imperial forces were promoting war.

He's not suggesting that old members of the imperial army get on a boat and promote war. LOL! The idea would be explain the historical context in which the bombings took place. And the historical context certainly doesn't paint Japan in a very rosy light: To whit: the killing of 10 million Asians and Westerners, far more than the number of Japanese who died .

If you don't know about that aspect of history, I suggest you browse through Wikipedia.

A good Muslim

as opposed to regular Muslims?

Good on them but Nuclear anything isn't safe.

...hundreds of activists aboard to speak about the dangers of nuclear weapons and energy.

Sigh, these people never learn. Peace and nuclear weapons are related topics. Peace and nuclear energy are not.

I can imagine some wicked parties on that boat...

So many dumb people talking about "going to IRAN". Hypocrisy! If is there someone to blame about NUCLEAR WEAPONS is USA, The only country in the world with a nuclear attack against poor civilians on their records.

About this boat, good Job, but I don't think that some dozens of people in a boat will make some real difference. Perhaps changing things inside Japan first would be a good start.

@disillusioned and jefflee.. Well said... @Albert Lazzaris.... as an American.. dropping A-bombs is something that is regrettable.... but the other side of the coin is... .. What happened to morals and honor with the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor?... JPN were the aggressors.. just ask Korea and all of China if you need more info.

There is zero argument to defend atomic weapons, that kill extensively and without any distinction mostly civilians. Using an A-bomb is - in my eyes - nothing else than a terrorist action: massive destruction of innocents to trigger psychological effect. None should have ever been used and none should be used in the future. Period! Thus thumb up to these people making their modest contribution in trying to get rid of the human madness.

go to Washington if you guys wanna do something

@Fadamor. That's the point: the A-bomb allowed to kill thousands of civilians while the argument to use it was based on erroneous assumptions (at least officially). Without A-bomb this would have never happened. So the learning is: no more A-bomb, which seems to be now a wide consensus since it has not been re-used even though major conflicts have happened since. Thus only one option: destroy all of them.

Sort of funny that old Fidel is now an anti-nuke activist. Remember a little something called the Cuban Missile Crisis? He allowed the Soviets to store nuclear weapons in Cuba and start building bases for launching them at the US. Of course we were ready to launch as well, but the point being that the old bearded one was not so anti-nuke when his Russian masters needed him otherwise.

What the posters on here who decry the 'evil US' for using the bomb in 1945 fail to realize in today's PC world where history is something one doesn't bother about because the new version of Modern Warfare is out is that it was a different time, and wholly different circumstances. Put another way, tell the wife who's husband was beheaded during the Bataan death march or the mother who was raped and her baby thrown on a bayonet in China (which was far from not the norm for the Japanese military at the time) that they should give more care towards any Japanese civilians that might be vaporized in ending a war. While an eye for an eye is never an admirable stance, it might depend upon how events affected you. Armchair diplomacy and judgements far in the future and removed from events are always so much easier.

Only a lunatic is not for peace and wants nuclear weapons, so in the sense of the protest, good on 'em. Personally I think it's something of a dangerous or at least foolish road to take in shelving nuclear energy because of weapons usage and accidents. It is in something of its infancy in some ways - perhaps generations from now it will be safe, clean and a world changer rather than a dangerous tool of death and destruction.

I don't see an issue with the 'Peace Boat' - I just think it's amusing that they go to Cuba to do promote peace and that Fidel is suddenly such a peace-nik. And I have no problem with the bomb survivors being against the bomb - I would be to (and am). But it would be nice if the cause rather than the end result were talked about in Japanese circles as well.

Readers, please stay on topic. Posts that do not focus on the Peace Boat will be removed.

@JeffLee

If you don't know about that aspect of history, I suggest you browse through Wikipedia.

And I would suggest you visit the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima. The peace activists make no attempt to deny the attrocities the Imperial forces commited. In fact, they rightfully show the attrocities as one of the factors why the atomic bombs were dropped.

If you have in fact visited the museum previously , I'd suggest you actually read what is in plain view.

@It"S ME

Pardon the pun but it sounds like the Peace Boat is a good thing to get aboard.

Cannot understand Spudman's comment,

A good Muslim

as opposed to regular Muslims?

He omitted the word "friend". A good Muslim friend obviously means a good friend who is a Muslim. So much hate, so little sense.

ReformedBasher.

It is a good thing. Met many people that study at ICU/Tokyo from a variety of religions and countries. They also tend to study in europe, etc before going on a boat-tour.

Most of those guys are set to to become government workers/officials in their home-country and got a goal to improve international relations and promote peace.

During their studies and while on the ship they can establish a network of fellow-minded people.

And I would suggest you visit the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima. The peace activists make no attempt to deny the attrocities the Imperial forces commited. In fact, they rightfully show the attrocities as one of the factors why the atomic bombs were dropped. If you have in fact visited the museum previously , I'd suggest you actually read what is in plain view.

I have been to that museum many times, both privately and work-related. The Peace Park is a beautiful place especially when the weather is nice. However, I would not say that the museum "rightfully" shows anything of the kind. It not nearly as biased as the Yushukan at Yasukuni, but it is also definitely as not as forthright about the Japanese involvement in the war as the memorial in Nagasaki.

Took an group of American school kids through that museum once. One of the museum guides leading group of Japanese kids through at the same time was asked "Why did the Americans do this?". The guide's reply was "Because they didn't like us". On other occasions through that museum, I heard similar things from Japanese school kids, teachers,etc. trying to sum of the reasons behind the dropping of that bomb. Lots of "Atomic weapons are evil and we were unjustly victimized by the bad Americans" talk, but strangely not a lot of talk of Japanese atrocities or other things.

@Mike_Fagg

I recall mention of the lead up to war towards the entrance when I visited about 2 years ago. If the adults are really not telling children the truth or simplifying the reason, that is their individual responsibilty. The museum however is open to everybody and therefore has a might higher responsibility to tell the truth.

My impression is that you and others feel that "Japan" was not "punished" enough. This kind of grudge does not promote peace.

ReformedBasherMAR. 06, 2012 - 09:12AM JST @Mike_Fagg I recall mention of the lead up to war towards the entrance when I visited about 2 years ago. If the adults are really not telling children the truth or simplifying the reason, that is their individual responsibilty. The museum however is open to everybody and therefore has a might higher responsibility to tell the truth. My impression is that you and others feel that "Japan" was not "punished" enough. This kind of grudge does not promote peace.

My impression is that having 5% of a museum devoted to the Japanese involvement in the war and the other 95% implicitly implying that Hiroshima (Japan) was victimized by the war also does not promote peace.

The exhibits on the things leading up to the dropping of the bomb are at presented at the beginning of the museum tour. They are all lumped together almost as if they are part of "different" exhibit. In turn, they are followed by many many more exhibits depicting the horror and destruction that Hiroshima endured because of the dropping of the bomb. I don't remember the "why" exhibits being mixed in with the rest in order to provide any context as to perhaps why some people felt that the bomb(s) needed to be dropped.

Most of the Japanese school groups I've seen at that museum don't really spend tons of time at the beginning of the tour. Many are led through fairly quickly to get to the other parts of the exhibit. Most of the teachers leading their kids through on this tour have only a limited amount of time before they have move on to the rest of their day's activities. Most of them don't want to spend 20 minutes at the beginning of the tour trying to explain to their kids why this might have happened. They'd rather get onto what happened.

I've read journals of students who have visited that museum. Most of them too focused on the "what" and not the "why". This is not surprising because that is the way the museum is laid out. Can't really blame the kids since the exhibits on "what happened" are so strong and powerful and so numerous that the "what" completely overwhelms the "why".

@Mike_Fagg

Would you insist we indocrinate our kids too then? Because we must absolutely never let anyone forget, right?

The "what" is far more important than the "why'. The "why" happened 70 years ago, the "what" is still a danger, not just to us but to all future generations until nuclear weapons no longer exist. Which leads us back to what the Peace Boat is all about.

If you don't get that, I give up trying to communicate with you because you are a waste of my time. Enjoy hating.

ReformedBasherMAR. 06, 2012 - 11:49AM JST @Mike_Fagg Would you insist we indocrinate our kids too then? Because we must absolutely never let anyone forget, right? The "what" is far more important than the "why'. The "why" happened 70 years ago, the "what" is still a danger, not just to us but to all future generations until nuclear weapons no longer exist. Which leads us back to what the Peace Boat is all about. If you don't get that, I give up trying to communicate with you because you are a waste of my time. Enjoy hating.

Not hating on anybody. And not suggesting that anyone's children be indoctrinated. Moreover, I've known quite a few people who participated in Peace Boat. All of them have had mostly positive things to say about the experience. Like any program it has a few problems every now and then but even so I am not hating on Peace Boat.

I responding to this comment you made to Jeff Lee regarding the Peace Museum in Hiroshima and in particular your assertion that museum "rightfully shows the attrocities as one of the factors why the atomic bombs were dropped."

ReformedBasherMAR. 05, 2012 - 09:20AM JST @JeffLee And I would suggest you visit the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima. The peace activists make no attempt to deny the attrocities the Imperial forces commited. In fact, they rightfully show the attrocities as one of the factors why the atomic bombs were dropped. If you have in fact visited the museum previously , I'd suggest you actually read what is in plain view.

My experience at visiting that museum (many times) is that it does not do that at all. Whatever information is presented about such atrocities is only cursory at best.

Finally, I would argue that people who insist on just focusing on the "what" and ignoring the "why" are doing themselves and others a disservice and perhaps are even at a greater risk of repeating the horrible mistakes of the past than others. Such people are also probably more likely than not to label those that do not share their particular viewpoint on a matter as "haters" who only waste their time.