Shizuka Kuramitsu
Originally from Hiroshima, Shizuka Kuramitsu completed her Master’s in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in 2022. Shizuka participated in the Critical Issues Forum(CIF) in Hiroshima in 2015, representing the Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School. Her school is well-known for its active and vigorous peace and disarmament education program. The school is also the alma mater of Ms. Setsuko Thurlow, one of the most vocal Hibakushas and Nobel Peace award recipient along with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in 2017.
She is now a Research Assistant at the Arms Control Association (ACA), where she assists ACA’s policy team in researching key nuclear arms control, strategic, and nonproliferation- and disarmament-related issues, including multilateral nonproliferation and disarmament agreements. She reports on these issues, nuclear weapons policy, and arms control-related legislation and development in the U.S. Congress for Arms Control Today, which is ACA’s flagship publication.
Throughout her studies and activities for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, Shizuka has come to learn that accomplishing a world free of nuclear weapons is long like a marathon. However, her determination to continue to work toward that goal has never been impeded by obstacles. All this speaks to her commitment to nuclear disarmament and global peace and security.
She recently attended the 2024 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in Geneva. On the sidelines of the two-week-long meeting, Shizuka moderated a panel discussion on “Action Steps to Implement Article VI of the NPT,” which featured leading experts in the field.
Photo: ACA