Secretary-General Ban expresses shock and regret at assassination of Nagasaki mayor

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed shock and regret at the assassination of Mayor Iccho Itoh of the Japanese city of Nagasaki, describing him as a “champion of peace” for his efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

“As Mayor of the second city that had been destroyed by atomic weapons in 1945, Mayor Itoh was a champion of peace for a world where nuclear war would never happen again,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement.

“He was a leader in the international campaign of more than 1,600 Mayors for Peace, calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons by the year 2020. The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to his family and friends, to the citizens of Nagasaki and Japan, to the many who work for a world without nuclear weapons.”