A 48-year-old British antinuclear activist proved that direct action by citizens can contribute to global disarmament and even prevent potential mass murder when, in a landmark ruling, she was acquitted for vandalizing a British warplane and a nuclear submarine research facility.

¡°Governments have been saying they will disarm for many decades, but they are not going to do it. Therefore, people have got to start doing it,¡± Angela Zelter said in a recent interview in Tokyo.

She is currently visiting Japan to give a nationwide series of lectures to raise awareness of nuclear disarmament issues.