Even if you have not experienced war, you can imagine the tragedy of it.

At 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945 (77 years ago today). The U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki.

About 150,000 of Nagasaki’s population of 240,000 at the time perished. Three days earlier, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, killing approximately 200,000 civilians. In total, 350,000 people died. The numbers are brutal. Even when I look at the total number, I don’t feel it in the slightest. But if I imagine that my parents, siblings, and friends all died in an instant, I can imagine how horrible it must have been. That is what really happened in the last war.

In history, both nuclear weapons used in actual warfare were dropped on Japan. Japan experienced defeat in the war and vowed to achieve lasting peace. Since the end of the war, Japan has not killed a single person in war, either at home or abroad. The current cabinet is trying to trample on this fact with impunity. This must not be tolerated. We must pass on to future generations the tragic experience of war and pledge once again not to fight.

I sincerely pray for the peace of their souls.

It is frightening to see people’s sensitivity to the tragic images of the Russian-Ukrainian war that we see every day, but eventually become so accustomed to seeing them that they seem like a distant event. The only thing we can do is to stop increasing defense spending under the guise of “national defense.” It is not in our national interest to sympathize with a conflict 10,000 kilometers away, to cut off relations with Russia, to drive up the prices of agricultural and building materials, or to disregard trade with China. Japan’s economy cannot exist without Chinese consumption. Japan should strategically develop a three-pronged and unique peace diplomacy with China, Russia, and South Korea. If Japan were to attack Japan, the other country would not need to use nuclear weapons, but would only need to attack its 18 nuclear power plants with missiles and that would be the end of it. There is no point for Japan to increase its arsenal of weapons now.

The only way to maintain permanent peace is through “ambiguous diplomatic tactics. The Japanese are good at it. Let’s be nice to the U.S. and China. Let us follow the example of India and the Middle East and pursue only our own interests. By using our votes in such a way, we hope that Japan’s attitude will be conveyed to the world and the economy will improve.