Chapter 29 Japanese women who fought for peace

In mid-August, I joined the Chinese delegation to Japan to attend the World Conference on the Prohibition of Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. From the time we arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan on August 9th to the time we left Haneda Airport on the night of August 26th, we were greeted by representatives of women's groups at the airports, stations, and docks we visited. They waved excitedly. waving flags and singing "No More Atomic Bombs" and "Tokyo-Beijing".At the conferences in Nagasaki, Osaka, and Tokyo, there were women representatives who made speeches. They expressed the indomitable determination of Japanese women against atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs and their strong will to fight for peace with deep and passionate voices.The most admirable are the atomic bomb victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - most of whom are women - blind, unable to move, with scars on their faces and arms, who sat in the front row of the venue holding flags.After the speeches of the representatives of various countries, they came to the stage one after another, weeping and complaining about the inhumane crimes of weapons of mass destruction.

After ten long years of pain and anger, they uttered a tragic and fierce cry. They revealed the evil deeds and crimes of those who launched the atomic war, and revealed the painful reality of the past ten years to peace fighters from all over the world.Because they know that they are not lonely victims, and their pain has brightened the eyes of the peace-loving people in the world. "No more atomic bombs" has become the righteous and powerful voice of hundreds of millions of people. At the conference, we also saw many young and lively girls who spoke English, French and Russian proficiently, interpreting for the representatives of various countries, and accompanying the representatives on tours.They are all students in colleges and universities, and some have struggled with their schools and families before they can do - in their own words - "work hard for peace".

Japanese friends once talked to me excitedly, saying that the difference between the Japanese women’s movement and previous women’s movements is that the peace movement was initiated and promoted by grassroots working women.In October 1953, Japanese fishermen aroused the indignation of countless mothers and wives because of the casualties caused by the hydrogen bomb test in Bikini Island.The vast number of fishermen in Japan are forced not to go fishing at sea, which affects the lives of countless families. Women in Tokyo's Suginami district and the more conservative Tsuruoka city in Yamagata prefecture have come forward.They became the most active members of the women's movement to ban the atomic and hydrogen bombs.

A wide range of rural women have also taken action.There are "female teachers and mothers' associations" in rural areas, where female teachers and mothers discuss opposition to atomic weapons, Japan-China and Japan-Soviet friendship, the promotion of peace education, and other women's personal issues. Their publication is "Mother's Light".They launched the "Singing Voice Movement", compiled many peace songs and sang them widely. Since this year, mothers' conferences have been actively held in various parts of Japan, centering on the Women's Organization Federation, and expanding in an all-round way like a wave. Members of the "Female Teachers and Mothers Association" played a great role in promoting.They sold items such as hand towels and fans to fund the travel expenses of the Japanese representatives to the World Mothers Conference in Lausanne.Participating in the Mothers' Assembly in Japan is oppressed and restricted. For example, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, a mother participated in the Mothers' Assembly, and her children were not allowed to enter school.However, the Japanese women finally overcame many obstacles, and the Tokyo Mother Conference was held from June 6th to 8th. More than 2,000 people attended the meeting.Even Yamaguchi Prefecture's second Mothers' Conference had more than 2,300 attendees, including the mayor and the county governor, and it was published in the Mainichi Shimbun in a huge space.

They also told me many touching stories of Japanese women in the peace movement, to illustrate how Japanese women gained their own rights from constant struggle.In Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, there are 145 female construction day laborers—this kind of day laborers are only paid 240 yuan a day, which is called “self-work”—because they participated in the mother’s meeting, the management would deduct Their salaries were paid as required by the representatives of the local "Mother's Congress" to the Municipal Civil Engineering Division and the Employment Security Office. When they finally got their salaries and returned to the venue, everyone applauded them warmly and celebrated their victory. .The mother's victory changed the views of husbands and sons on wives and mothers in feudal families.Japanese women are gradually breaking the shackles of feudalism, and together with men, they are marching towards the avenue of peace.

It is difficult for women to hold meetings in rural areas because they cannot borrow a place.Once a woman was invited to give a report in Saitama County. The meeting place was in a small bicycle shop. The women pushed the bicycles outside the door. Forty-eight people sat around and discussed many immediate issues, such as Life issues, price issues, prostitution issues, etc., the emotions are extremely high. When the head of the Japanese Defense Agency announced that military training would be implemented in schools, mothers also objected. They were determined not to send their sons to the battlefields in Asia.

Personally, I deeply feel that in the few years since I left Japan, the Japanese women's movement has embarked on the path of striving for peace.Japanese women are the section of the Japanese people that has suffered the most from the war.The tragedies of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Bikini Island have caused great pain in the hearts of Japanese women. They never want their husbands and children to be victims of war or atomic weapons again, and they never want the world There will be a second Hiroshima and a second Nagasaki. Japanese women, who were the first atomic weapon testing site, awakened. They resolutely opposed this heinous weapon of mass destruction. This call for justice has received warm echoes in every corner of the world.