NH #737: The Lie of Nuclear Deterrence - ICAN's Melissa Parke in Hiroshima, Nagasaki & Korea for Atomic Bomb 80th Commemorations, Hibakusha

This Week’s Featured Interview:

ICAN Executive Director Melissa Parke in Hiroshima. Photo: ICAN / Takeo Nakaoku

Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, traveled to Japan for the 80th anniversary commemorations of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She is a former Australian Minister for International Development and former Member of Parliament for the Australian Labor Party. As an MP, she regularly voiced support for nuclear disarmament, including as a member of a cross-party parliamentary group dedicated to the cause. She has been the head of ICAN for almost two years. 


We caught up with Melissa while she was in Nagasaki the day after the Hiroshima 80th anniversary ceremony. Her tour of the far east included the Nagasaki commemoration on August 9 and then travel to South Korea to talk with Korean hibakusha – Korean citizens who were in Japan as forced labor when the bombs were exploded. We discussed the ceremonies, the dilemma of the Korean hibakusha, why “deterrence” is a false hope that leaves the door open for disaster, and why the only way to end the nuclear threat is to abolish nuclear weapons.

I spoke with Melissa Parke on August 7, 2025.

LINKS from the interview:

• Deterrence article cited during interview
• Children’s Peace Memorial
• Cranes of Memory

Nuclear Hotseat Hot Story with Linda Pentz Gunter:

Linda Pentz Gunter returns following a sabbatical to complete her book, which will be published in March. For her first new Hot Story: The power of words and images serve as a lesson from Hiroshima.

Numnutz of the Week (for Outstanding Nuclear Boneheadedness):

Put a nuke on the moon or on the back of a trailer or in the middle of a busy airport – what could go wrong? (Steven Colbert has some ideas…)

And yes, Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry’s – when it comes to nuclear it IS a Small World After All!

LINKS:

• A global call to action – Trades unions and peace groups demand democracy that delivers peace and prosperity for all
• These nuclear reactors fit on a flatbed truck. How safe are they?
• Nuclear winter would bring mass starvation and death for years post-war, startling new study reveals: ‘We must be prepared’
• August 8, 2025 – No Nukes for Power, Posturing or Destruction
 by Karl Grossman