Mayors for Peace is an international organization of cities across the world that are dedicated to the promotion of peace. It was established by then Mayor of Hiroshima Takeshi Araki on June 24, 1982, at the Second UN Special Session on Disarmament held at UN Headquarters in New York. Mayor Araki’s proposal grew out of abhorrence at the deaths of some 140,000 people in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The organization to which his proposal gave birth offered cities a way to transcend national borders and work together to press for nuclear abolition. In the years since the organization’s formation, subsequent mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have continued to call on municipal leaders around the world to support the Mayors for Peace vision. At present, there are 7,536 signatory cities in 162 countries and territories around the world.