The year 2008 was a year of natural disasters and global food crisis, both of which were allegedly caused by climate change and global warming. This year is a year of man-made, preventable disasters. The Gaza War, from 27 December 2008-8 January 2009 with approximately 1,500 killed, dashed hopes for an auspicious, peaceful herald of the New Year. Another global financial crisis caused by human greed has been causing worldwide hardships and sufferings. A series of air traffic accidents occurred despite the advancement of air transportation technology, which shows that scientific advancement does not necessarily guarantee safety of lives, in particular when human factors are involved. Above all, the world is facing an unprecedented threat of destruction from nuclear weapons.

The military onslaught of the Taliban in Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons in its arsenal, together with declarations by Taliban extremists to use such weapons against their enemies nearly brought the world to the brink of nuclear bombing catastrophes, not seen for 64 years, since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and the subsequent atomic bombing of Nagasaki three days later. While the nuclear threat in Pakistan is from non-State actors, the one posed by North Korea is from the North Korean Government itself. North Korea has been test-firing its missiles and going ahead with its nuclear weapon programmes despite sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. Indeed, the North Korean regime’s survival depends on its ability to blackmail the rest of the world into providing it with aid from which the ruling elites in that country would continue to benefit the most, at the expense of starving, ordinary North Koreans. This is happening on the doorstep of Japan, the sole victim of nuclear weapons to date. Potential victims of the use of nuclear weapons by the Taliban and North Korea, however, would be the entire human race. The ghosts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have come back to haunt us all, especially those in possession of nuclear weapons! The world, therefore, must get rid of the entire stockpiles of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction as well as those that cause indiscriminate injuries in violation of international humanitarian law.

Some encouraging signs of disarmament have emerged in the past 12 months since my message on the 63rd Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. At the end of May this year, Russia and the USA formally opened in Siberia the world’s largest plant for destruction of deadly chemical weapons, with the US Government contributing US$ 1 billion in aid, Russia contributing over US$ 250 million, and some other European countries more than US$ 200 million. This joint effort is part of the commitment under the 1997 Chemical Weapon Convention for Russia and the USA to destroy their chemical weapons by the year 2012. In a separate development, the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) mentioned in my previous message was opened for signature on 3 December 2008, and will enter into force after being ratified by 30 States Parties thereto. As of this writing, 10 States, or one-third of the requisite number, have ratified it and another 98 have signed but not yet ratified it. Let us hope that the CCM will fare better than the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which has 189 States Parties, including the 5 nuclear weapons States which are also permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The NPT still cannot rid the world of nuclear weapons, and continues to see threats from such weapons as never before. The newly elected Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who will take office in November 2009 is Ambassador Yukiya Amano of Japan. It is hoped that he will work hard to realize the fervent desire of his compatriots from Japan, the only country that has experienced being bombed by nuclear weapons, for an end to nuclear arms race and weaponization .

At the end of June 2009 in Seville, Spain, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee added a number of new names to its long World Heritage List. One may wonder whether any of those in the World Heritage List would ever survive if they were situated in a target of indiscriminate atomic bombings by a rogue State or extremist non-State actors who have no appreciation whatsoever of cultural, historic, aesthetic or religious values. But one inspirational symbol of world peace has survived such an experience!

The head of the Madonna of the Urakami Church located at the epi-centre of the destruction by the “Fatman” atomic bomb dropped from the airplane named Bockscar at 11:02 a.m. on 9 August 1945 has survived the nuclear carnage and is now restored to its rightful place inside that Church. World organizations and institutes should accord this symbol with due recognition it deserves. The Madonna of Nagasaki is definitely a world heritage that serves to remind humankind of the fathomless plight of wars and armed conflicts.

At any rate, the Madonna of Nagasaki has inspired me to set up the Sata Foundation to help promote world peace and humanitarian endeavours. The Sata Foundation’s slogan “Science is for living, not for killing” aims to urge citizens of the globe to strive for a better and more humane world, with science playing constructive, not destructive, roles. You can see details of our activities and projects by visiting our website.

For five consecutive years, the Sata Foundation has been organizing the Run for Peace cycling rallies in France to commemorate the tragic atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as to promote awareness of peace for humankind and to raise funds for humanitarian causes. This year’s Peace Rally is held on 1 August, with around 800 cyclists expected, a huge increase from 500 in the past years.

Donations provide a crucial source of support for maintaining the Sata Foundation’s activities. Contributions in any amount will be appreciated.

Please make your donations to:- Sata Foundation: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Head Office, Tokyo, Japan, Account Number 200-9481436. You can also make donations by credit card. Receipts will be provided on request.