https://www.icanw.org/japan-3-5-million-petition-join-tpnw
Led by Nihon Hidankyo, the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Japanese civil society groups, including Gensuikyo, Gensuikin and the Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, are united for a nuclear-free world. In an extraordinary demonstration of public will, they have collectively submitted a petition with nearly 3.5 million signatures urging the Japanese government to fully embrace a future without nuclear weapons. The scale and moral clarity of this action should make it clear that it is unacceptable that the Japanese government still refuses to engage with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
At simultaneous rallies in Tokyo and Hiroshima in November 2025, Hibakusha and supporters from across the country gathered to deliver a simple, urgent demand: Japan must uphold and strengthen its commitment to peace by enshrining the Three Non-Nuclear Principles into law and joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Melissa Parke, Executive Director of ICAN, emphasized the global significance of this moment: “The voices of the Hibakusha and the millions who stand with them carry a moral authority that cannot be ignored. Japan has both the responsibility and the opportunity to stand on the right side of history by joining the TPNW.”
This petition was submitted at the time of domestic unease over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who may consider revisiting Japan’s longstanding non-nuclear policy. The Hibakusha, those who have endured the unspeakable suffering caused by nuclear weapons, responded with characteristic courage. Their message to the government could not be clearer: there is no justification for weakening Japan’s nuclear principles, and every justification for strengthening them.
Hideo Asano of the Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons echoed this call: “The people of Japan have spoken with unity and conviction. Our government must listen and take decisive action to ensure nuclear weapons are never again used against any human being.”
For decades, the atomic bomb survivors have reminded Japan and the world that nuclear weapons are not abstract tools of security but instruments of indiscriminate destruction. Their lived experience is the conscience of the global nuclear debate. And now, millions of Japanese citizens have added their voices in solidarity.
This petition represents millions of Japanese individuals who desire that the government, instead of watering down its non-nuclear principles, must seize the historic opportunity and responsibility to lead on nuclear disarmament. By signing and ratifying the TPNW, Japan would align its policies with the will of its people, the testimony of the Hibakusha, and the global movement toward eliminating nuclear weapons.
Millions of Japanese citizens demand a safer, more humane world through this petition. It is time for Japan to join the TPNW and help make that world a reality.
