A World without Nuclear Weapons #02

There are efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, but not all countries have joined them. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was written in 1968 and has been signed by 189 countries. It allows only the five countries in the UN Security Council to have nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan, and Israel have said that this treaty is unfair so the will not sign it. North Korea signed it, but in 2003 said it will no longer follow it. Another agreement called the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibits all testing of nuclear weapons, even in space. It was adopted in 1996 and has been signed by 183 countries, but has not yet been ratifies by 44 countries, including the United States, as of the beginning of February 2010.
In his speech in Prague, President Obama talked about a world without nuclear weapons. He said: “First, the United States will take concrete steps towards a world without nuclear weapons. To put an end to Cold War thinking, we will reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, and urge others to do the same.” On December 10, President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. His speech in Prague was one of the reasons for this award.
I believe that most Japanese people agree with the plan to get rid of nuclear weapons. However, I was surprised by a survey that said 61% of Americans believe the bombing of Japan in World War II was “the right thing.” They probably think that the atomic bombs ended the war. Perhaps that is true. The war had continued for many years. Millions of innocent people in many countries were killed during the war, and Japan’s military refused to surrender. However, I think that the Americans who believe the bombs were “the right thing” probably do not fully understand the bombs’ effects. If they could see these effects for themselves, they may change their minds.
I know that the nuclear weapons problem is very complicated. Japan is now protected by the United States, which has nuclear weapons. Therefore, one can say that Japan is also “under the nuclear umbrella.” Nevertheless, Japan should not stop telling the world about the need to ban all nuclear weapons. As President Obama said, this goal will not be reached quickly. The world would definitely be a better place, however, with no nuclear weapons at all. Japan, as the only country that has suffered the effects of ones, can best present this idea to the world.

A World without Nuclear Weapons #01

A Nuclear-Free World
Stopping the spread of nuclear weapons

On April 5, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama gave a speech in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. He said that countries should work together to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. I was very inspired by Obama’s speech. However, I know that the U.S. has the most atomic bombs of any country in the world. I want to learn about nuclear weapons, including why countries have them and what should be done to stop them.
The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The second was dropped on Nagasaki three days later. These bombs created a blast of 4,000 degrees Celsius. Instantly everything near the bomb blast was vaporized. The bombs killed tens of thousands of people, and caused sickness and death for many more in the following years due to radiation poisoning. It is said that the two bombs have caused nearly 400,000 deaths as of September 2007, and many people are still sick today.
The atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had other effects throughout the world. The Soviet Union became afraid of America’s power and increased development of its own nuclear weapons. This started a nuclear arms race. Countries did not use their weapons, but just having them gave a feeling of security. This period was called the Cold War. It lasted from around 1945, the end of World War II, to 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed. At the height of the Cold War, there were about 60,000 nuclear weapons in the world.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, the U.S. had a better relationship with Russia. The two countries began to gradually reduce their stocks of nuclear weapons. However, the still have about 30,000 weapons. Also, the U.K., France and China ― the three other countries that are permanent members of the UN Security Council ― have them. India, Pakistan, and North Korea say that they have nuclear weapons, and Israel, Iran and Syria are also thought to have them.