Dear Friend --

This Friday, August 6th and next Monday August 9th will mark the 76th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and together with our partner Peace Boat we would like to invite you to a series of unique live streams from Japan, on ICAN’s instagram. 

Follow @nuclearban on instagram to get notified when we go live

Each year, the anniversaries of these horrific events remind us of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and what is at stake in our work to eliminate these weapons of mass destruction. For decades, the survivors of the bombings, hibakusha, have shared their stories and called for a global ban on nuclear weapons.

This year’s commemorations will be the first since the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force, a historic moment that the hibakusha spent decades fighting for. In Japan, our partner Peace Boat will be in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to participate in the official commemorations, and will be helping us share impressions of the day and speak to some of the attending Hibakusha about the significance of this moment.

Follow @nuclearban

In Hiroshima, we will have two live events throughout  the day so you will hopefully be able to join one no matter what timezone you’re in.

Morning -  Live from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony and minute of silence
At 08:05 JST, Peaceboat’s Sumiko Hatakeyama will be your guide at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, showing you the A-bomb dome and capturing the atmosphere of Hiroshima and the feeling of the Hibakusha that morning.  
Friday 6 August 08:05am Hiroshima / 09:05am Sydney / 11:05am Auckland / 12:05am London / 7:05pm (Aug 5) New York (calculate your timezone)

Evening - Live from the Hiroshima Peace Park and Hibaku piano concert
At 20:40 JST Peace Boat will offer you a beautiful evening view from Hiroshima and part of a concert featuring two musical instruments that survived the bombing: Akiko’s Piano and Palchikoff’s Violin. Mary Popeo, who hosted our earlier lives at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and for the Treaty’s entry into force, will be your guide. 
Friday 6 August  08:40pm Hiroshima / 09:40pm Sydney / 11:40pm Auckland / 12:40pm London / 7:40am New York  (calculate your timezone)

We will also be following up with more details about the live stream from Nagasaki in the coming days, so stay tuned. If you're looking for something in person where possible, or closer to home, please check out our global events map.

We hope you will be able to join us live on instagram to mark these two historic days, and that you will keep pushing with us to honour the hibakusha’s wish and see the elimination of nuclear weapons

Thank you,

Lucero Oyarzun
Digital Campaign Coordinator
ICAN

&

Rika Watanabe
International Coordinator
Peace Boat

PS - If you don’t have an instagram account or can't make it at either time, don’t worry, we will make the recordings available on our IGTV afterwards (and you don't need to be logged in to watch those!)