Vatican City: The Catholic bishops of Japan have issued a powerful moral appeal against the possession and use of nuclear weapons, warning that the current global climate is edging dangerously close to a catastrophic security crisis. In a strongly worded statement released on June 20, the bishops condemned nuclear armament as fundamentally immoral and called on the world to choose peace over destruction.
“As shepherds of the Church in the only nation to have endured the horror of nuclear bombings during wartime, we carry within us the indelible pain of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” the bishops wrote. Recalling the devastation of August 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities during World War II, the bishops emphasized that the tragedy should serve as a permanent reminder of the consequences of such weapons.
The first atomic bomb was unleashed on Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945. In mere seconds, a fireball resembling the sun reduced the city to ashes, sending a plume of radioactive dust high into the sky. The blast and its aftermath killed an estimated 1.5 million people, leaving generations to suffer the scars of radiation, grief, and trauma. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, deepening the horror that still haunts Japan’s collective memory.
The bishops stated unequivocally that any attempt to justify the possession, development, or potential use of nuclear weapons as a deterrent or otherwise is both morally and strategically flawed. “The doctrine of nuclear deterrence is a dangerous illusion,” the bishops said. “Rather than promoting safety, it drives the world closer to irreversible disaster.”
They warned that the continued proliferation of nuclear arsenals and rhetoric around their potential use, amid rising geopolitical tensions, could lead humanity down a dark and destructive path. "We are not just speaking from history, but from a living wound that must not be reopened. Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never happen again.”
The bishops rejected the belief that nuclear weapons are a necessary evil to prevent war, labeling such logic as deeply misguided. “This way of thinking has reached the limit of our tolerance. Nuclear weapons do not guarantee peace; they threaten it,” they stated.
Urging nations to abandon nuclear doctrines and redirect their efforts toward disarmament, dialogue, and cooperation, the bishops called on the global community to chart a new course toward genuine and lasting peace. “The world must choose peace without relying on the shadow of annihilation,” they concluded.
The statement reflects not only the trauma of a nation that has suffered firsthand the consequences of nuclear warfare, but also the unwavering commitment of the Japanese Church to promote a future rooted in justice, reconciliation, and the sacred dignity of every human life.