Japan's Empress appeals for nuke-free world

JAPAN: Japan's Empress Michiko on her 75th birthday Tuesday issued a call for the abolition of atomic weapons and praised US President Barack Obama's push for a nuclear-free world.

Michiko said Obama, in a speech in Prague this year, showed a "strong determination" towards abolishing nuclear weapons and that the initiative had helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize.

"The horrors of nuclear weapons are not only the magnitude of their destruction but also the serious and tragic effects of radiation that leaves victims suffering long" after their exposure, she said.

"I think Japan, the country that has been hit by atomic bombs, needs to seek broader and deeper understanding of this in the international community," she said in written remarks issued on her birthday.

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on the western Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The blinding blast of "Little Boy" and the fallout from its mushroom cloud killed about 140,000 people, either instantly or in the days and weeks that followed as radiation and horrific burns took their toll.

Three days after the attack, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, which killed more than 70,000 people in the southern port city. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II in the Pacific.

Michiko also said that her biggest recent worry had been the serious economic slump in Japan amid the global financial crisis.

"Many people lost their jobs and homes, had to give up on higher education or had hiring promises cancelled. This was the most serious concern in this past year," she said.

Michiko, a flour magnate's daughter, married into Japan's imperial family 50 years ago. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Emperor Akihito's reign, with ceremonies set for next month.

Tokyo, Tuesday, AFP