The Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only two cities to experience the devastation of nuclear bombs, met for the first time during a courtesy visit in Nagasaki where they also held a joint newsconference.

Mr. Kazumi Matsui (picture) was elected mayor of Hiroshima for the first time in the April 10 mayoral election, and has assumed the Presidency of the international network of Mayors for Peace.

According to Kyodo News the new Mayor of Hiroshima and the re-elected Mayor of Nagasaki, Tomihisa Taue, declared during the joint newsconference that they will continue joint efforts for a world free of nuclear weapons and deepen the work of Mayors for Peace, a worldwide network of over 4700 local governments devoted to nuclear disarmament.

''We must strongly appeal for the full abolition of nuclear weapons”, said Mayor Matsui, reaffirming his commitment to promote citizens’ calls for worldwide complete nuclear disarmament. In an earlier press conference in Hiroshima, the newly elected Mayor declared that he intends to invite citizens to come up with drafts for the traditional August 6^th declaration, which is issued annually for the ceremony in memory of the US atomic bombing of the city during II World War.

Following the Fukushima disaster the dangers posed by nuclear energy were also addressed by the Mayors. While Mayor Taue expressed a cautious position on the matter, taking in consideration the benefits and risks of nuclear technology, Mr. Matsui said later on, at the press conference in Hiroshima, that there is a loss of public trust in the Japanese energy policy.

Former Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, has chosen not to run for re-election after his 3rd mandate. In the 12 years he served as President of Mayors for Peace, the network experienced the largest growth and development with the launch of the 2020 Vision Campaign. Mr. Akiba was recognized worldwide for his dedication to promote nuclear disarmament, and will now serve as a specially appointed professor at the University of Hiroshima on the subjects of local autonomy and peace. Before leaving his position as Mayor, his last official act was a visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, where he offered flowers to the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.

More information on the prefessional background of Kazumi Matsui can be found at the website of the Hiroshima Secretariat of Mayors for Peace

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