Authorities in Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki have protested a US subcritical test at a nuclear test site in Nevada. Hiroshima, which survived the atomic bombing, is calling on the states to suspend all future nuclear tests, according to a statement on the city's website.
A statement sent to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and to the administration of Joe Biden was published on the official website of the city of Hiroshima.
“This test goes against the wishes of many people, including atomic bomb survivors, who have called for the abolition of nuclear weapons. <...> We strongly protest and call for the suspension of all future nuclear tests,” reads the text of the letter, which was signed by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui.
Nagasaki Prefectural Governor Oishi Kengo also protested against the recent subcritical nuclear test, NHK reported. He said the experiment would accelerate the nuclear arms race and called on the states to abandon all tests that “contribute to the maintenance or development of nuclear weapons.”
Recall, May 16, the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) reported the successful conduct of a “subcritical test” in Nevada. It noted that Washington plans to increase the frequency of such experiments “to collect important data on materials used in nuclear weapons without the technical need to return to underground nuclear test explosions.”
The NNSA emphasized that the experiment was conducted in accordance with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
