Addressed respectively to: the President of the United States of America, the President of the Russian Federation
April 8, 2026
Your Excellency:
In August 1945, the atomic bombs completely destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the end of that year, approximately 210,000 precious lives were lost in both cities. Since then, as cities that experienced the tragedy of the atomic bombings, we have continued to convey the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and call for their abolition, driven by the hibakusha’s heartfelt plea that “no one else should ever suffer as we have.”
Determined to never repeat the tragedy of World War Ii, which claimed tens of millions of lives, the international community founded the United Nations to maintain global peace and security and to foster international cooperation. Its first resolution called for “the elimination of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction,” which remains the organization’s foremost goal.
Furthermore, the ultimate goal of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which serves as the cornerstone of the international community’s nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, is the total elimination of nuclear weapons, binding all States Parties to fulfill the obligations under this Treaty. In particular, as a nuclear superpower wielding immense global influence, your country is expected to lead by example through concrete actions in achieving this goal.
However, in February of this year, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)—the bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation that embodied the obligation to pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament as stated in Article 6 of the NPT—expired without a successor agreement in place. This may send a message that the two countries have abandoned their path towards the abolition of nuclear weapons. In fact, reliance on nuclear weapons is becoming increasingly prominent among the nuclear-armed states and their allies.
Faced with this unprecedented crisis, the atomic-bombed cities are gripped by a harrowing fear that a third city could suffer the same fate as Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The 11th Review Conference of the NPT is set to begin on the 27th of this month. After two consecutive Conferences failed to reach a consensus on a final document, this upcoming Conference will be a historic turning point for the world to determine whether the NPT regime can be maintained.
Now is the time to return to the principles established eighty years ago. It is essential to maintain and strengthen the international order based on the rule of law through rational dialogue, and for all States Parties, including the nuclear-weapon states, to bring together their collective wisdom and demonstrate an unwavering resolve to uphold the NPT regime.
We strongly implore you to reaffirm the commitments made in previous Conferences, to present a concrete roadmap to ensure tangible progress towards nuclear disarmament, and to take the lead in advancing these efforts.
