Akira Kawasaki, a member of the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and a member of the Executive Committee of Peace Boat gave lectures at Ehime University on Dec. 16 and 17. ICAN was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. The Dec. 16 lecture was held in the Media Hall and was open to the public. The audience of 50 was about half students and half local citizens.
On the 17th Prof. Wada of the Faculty of Law and Letters gave one session of his Peace Studies class over to Mr. Kawasaki and about 60 students, including a few international students, attended. Mr. Kawasaki gave some background about ICAN and its activities and gave comprehensive explanation of the rationale of those countries that have nuclear weapons and of those who feel they should be abolished. One point that he made that made an impression at both sessions was that the image of nuclear weapons is changing from a symbol of strength and power to one of shame. He explained the ICAN strategy aimed at social, economic and political fronts to abolish nuclear weapons. He showed that progress has been made already and he left both audiences with the hope that it is possible to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
Lecture by Mr. Kawasaki