JCCU and consumer co-ops nationwide have joined the Hibakusha Appeal, a signature campaign calling for an international treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons. The Hibakusha Appeal has been addressed from April 2016, and the collected signatures are delivered to the UN General Assembly every fall. This effort is expected to continue until 2020.

As part of the initiative, the Hiroshima Consumers' Co-operative Union called on the Hiroshima Prefectural Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA Hiroshima CHUOKAI), the Hiroshima Joint Committee of Co-operatives (HJC) to collect signatures. A total of 60,656 signatures were collected from two organizations and on March 28, at JA Hiroshima CHUOKAI, the signature sheets handover ceremony was held. This brings the number of signatures collected in Hiroshima Prefecture to a total of more than 500,000.

From the right, Mr. MOMIDA, Mr. OKAMURA, Ms. HIRA

The signature sheets were handed in turns to Mr. OKAMURA Nobuhide, President of Hiroshima Consumers' Co-operative Union by Mr. MOMIDA Kiyoshi, President HJC and Ms. HIRA Ritsuka, President of JA Hiroshima Women's Association respectively. These signatures, together with the signatures collected nationwide will be delivered to the UN General Assembly to be held from September 17 to 30, 2019.

Out of the total signatures collected this time nearly 70%, totaling 42,364 were collected by the JA Hiroshima Women's Association. Among the members of the organization are A-bomb survivors and children of A-bomb survivors. In addition to giving their own signatures, some of them further collected signatures from their previous work places. The average ages of A-bomb survivors and their children were over 82 and 60 respectively as of the end of March 2018.

The Hiroshima Promotion Committee for the Hibakusha Appeal, which includes Hiroshima Consumers' Co-operative Union and many co-operative organizations in the prefecture, has a target of collecting 1.4 million signatures. With May 21 to 30, set forth as "Hibakusha Appeal Week", 80 organizations participating in the Hibakusha Appeal will organize street signature collection event and other signature collection activities in Hiroshima Prefecture, aiming to achieve the target.