On 18 May 2022, the Soka Gakkai Peace Committee in Japan organized an online screening of the film The Vow From Hiroshima as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) online cinema series. The film is an intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, an atomic bomb survivor and peace activist, and depicts her deep motivation to work for nuclear disarmament throughout her life. While nuclear disarmament is not an explicit tenet of the SDGs, a sustainable society cannot be realized as long as nuclear weapons continue to threaten humanity. In this way, disarmament efforts are integral to achieving the SDGs and warranted a place in the online cinema series.

Following the film screening, Keiko Nakamura, Associate Professor at the Nagasaki University Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, presented a talk on the significance and latest discussions on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Nakamura emphasized the importance of further strengthening the solidarity among civil society in preparation for the first Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) to the TPNW, which was convened in June 2022.

More than 450 participants of all ages viewed the film screening and Nakamura’s remarks, with one participant commenting, “We are convinced that nuclear abolition can be achieved, and we will talk about it and share our thoughts with people around us.”