Delegation will deliver a message of peace in Japan

Photo by john larson

PEACE OFFERINGS. From left to right, Angela Chan, Keifer Sumers and Zea Gutierrez, students at Holy Rosary Catholic School, display origami cranes they made for the delegation.

A delegation of Americans, most from the Tacoma area, will travel to Japan later this summer to issue an apology for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The group will leave on July 31 and visit the two cities on the anniversaries of the bombings.

Most of the participants are long-time peace activists. They hope their visit helps heal some of the deep wounds left over from the attacks and generates support in the United States and around the world for abolishing nuclear weapons.

Delegation members have a variety of faith backgrounds. One is Mitch Kohjima, a native of Japan who moved to Tacoma 23 years. He used to be a Buddhist monk.

“We are not politicians, just a grassroots community group,” Kohjima said.

He noted President Barack Obama recently gave a speech calling for world leaders to work toward a future without nuclear weapons. As the only nation to ever use them, Kohjima feels the United States has a responsibility to lead the effort to abolish them.

“The world is watching. This is a very important time,” Kohjima said.

“We must keep the experience in our memory,” Kohjima said. At 60, he feels an obligation to make sure young people understand the horror of what happened in Japan 64 years ago. “This is our challenge. It must be passed on to the next generation.”

Father Bill Bichsel, a Catholic priest well known for his peace activism, said discussions about making this visit began a year ago among local activists. Many are veterans of demonstrations at the Trident nuclear submarine facility at Bangor.

“We never have really acknowledged what we did with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Bichsel said. “Unless we acknowledge and repent of that, we do not get off the path of nuclear proliferation,

The delegation has 15 people so far. They include local folk singers Steve and Kristi Nebel, a Dominican nun from Mexico and a Catholic priest of the Franciscan order from Las Vegas. A few college students may join them.

Bichsel is in touch with the Catholic archbishops of both cities, who are helping coordinate activities for the delegation. He hopes the group can meet the mayors of both cities.

Steven Leeper, an American who is director of the Peace and Cultural Center in Hiroshima, is also helping put them in touch with local authorities and community leaders.

Sadako Sasaki was 2 when the bomb was dropped on her hometown of Hiroshima. She died 10 years later from illness caused by radiation. Before she died a friend visited her in the hospital and told her she would recover if she folded 1,000 origami cranes. The girl made about 600 before she passed away.

Her story circulated around the world and origami cranes have become a symbol of peace. The delegation will bring strings of them made by local children to ceremonies in Japan. Schools that participated include Holy Rosary, Sheridan Elementary and Bryant Montessori. “They are a very significant offer of peace,” Bichsel remarked.

They will also bring petitions they are circulating, which offer an apology for the bombings.

Tom Karlin served in the U.S. Navy from 1956-60 and was stationed in Japan for a while. He visited a museum in Nagasaki that tells the story of the bombing and its aftermath. “I was horrified by what I saw at the museum,” he said. “The photos of people running from the inferno, with looks of terror in their eyes. That all struck me, but I didn’t know what to think of it,”

After leaving the military, he went off to a Catholic monastery. Then he served with the Jesuit order in Alaska, where he met Bichsel. There he met the woman who became his wife. They moved to Tacoma in the early 1970s. From 2000-07 they lived and worked with Bichsel at the Tacoma Catholic Worker complex on Hilltop. They now live in Lakewood.

While in the Navy Karlin trained in weapons handling at Bangor. By the 1970s he was participating in protests outside the base demanding an end to nuclear weapons.

This will be Karlin’s first trip to Japan since his Navy days. Back then he did not understand concepts of social justice. Since then he has been impressed with the values of respect and humility that are so important in the Japanese culture.

“I am really looking forward to it,” he said. “We are building up a movement for peace. We want to share what we have seen and encourage people to get involved in the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.”    

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