On Thursday, Aug. 8, the Fukushima Support Committee and Council for Pacific Asian Theology will host the third annual Unite for Peace and Nuclear Justice — Hiroshima/Nagasaki Never Again.
They invite communities to gather in Little Tokyo to commemorate the victims of all nuclear atrocities of the past and present and to take actions to bring the world a little closer to a nuclear-free future. This includes a “No War with/on Iran” petition drive to be delivered to Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California’s 34th Congressional District, which Little Tokyo is part of.
The gathering will take place at Toriumi Plaza from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., with a silent prayer at 7:02, the exact time the atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki, on Aug. 6, 1945 (11:02 a.m. Japan time). There will be a “Give Peace a Chance” sing-along, candlelight procession, prayers, and inspiring speakers. Music will be provided by GOH (Goh Kurosawa).
“We need you to be there because we are at ‘two minutes to midnight,’” organizer Tsukuru Lauritzen said, “closer than we’ve ever been since Hiroshima/Nagasaki to the possibility of another nuclear war.”
Prayers will be offered by Rev. Peter Hata, Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple; Rev. Ryuzen Hayashi, Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin; Rev. Dickson Yagi, emeritus professor of Christian studies, Seinan Gakuin University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Speakers include Michiko Kato, Fukushima survivor; Denise Duffield, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles; Farideh Kioumehr, founder and executive director, International Health and Epidemiology Center; Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla, candidate for Congress in District 34; Hiroshima Jogakuin High School students (live from Hiroshima).
Toriumi Plaza is located at the northwest corner of East 1st Street and San Pedro Street. Suggested parking at the Aiso Street Parking Garage, 101 N. Judge John Aiso St.
For more information, contact Tsukuru at forfuturefukushima@gmail.com or (323) 899-0463.
This event is endorsed by Progressive Asian Network for Action (PANA), Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR), Nikkei Resisters, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Peace Action, Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles (CAIR), International Health and Epidemiology Research Center, Veterans for Peace Los Angeles, MLK Coalition of Greater Los Angeles, Answer Coalition, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Southern California War Tax Resistance, Friends of Chain Reaction, Holy Faith Episcopal Church of Inglewood, Topanga Peace Alliance, Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice, Socialist Unity Party, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP).