Iccho Itoh
(1945-2007)

3-time Mayor of Nagasaki
Nuclear Abolition Advocate

birthdate: August 23
birthplace: Nagasaki, Japan

Iccho Itoh, a 3-term mayor of Nagasaki, was born just two weeks after Nagasaki was destroyed by a nuclear bomb in 1945. Nagasaki was the last city in history to suffer the devastation of a nuclear attack and it was Mayor Itoh's hope that it would be the last city ever to face such devastation. He was a leading spokesperson for abolishing nuclear weapons and as vice president of the global organization, Mayors For Peace, Mayor Itoh spearheaded their worldwide campaign to eliminate all nuclear weapons by the year 2020. Mayor Itoh's life and work were cut short by an assassin's bullet in 2007, but his dream lives on in many who are working to create a safer world by abolishing nuclear weapons.