Itoh was a vocal critic of nuclear weapons as mayor of Nagasaki, and the United States as one of the world's main nuclear states in particular. On 7 November 1995, Itoh made a speech at the International Court of Justice in the Hague stressing that, as the mayor of a city where an atomic bomb was dropped just two weeks before his birth, the use of nuclear weapons is a violation of international law.[http://www.lawofwar.org/Nuclear_Weapons%20_Advisory_Opinion_international_court_of_justice.htm] In August 2002, at a commemoration of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Itoh criticized the United States' nuclear weapons policy in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In May 2005, at a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conference, Itoh claimed that mankind and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist together. In 2006, Itoh criticized the United States and North Korea for conducting nuclear tests. Early in Itoh's mayorship, there was controversy over plans to demolish some ruins from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki to reuse the land, but this was eventually scrapped after a protest at Nagasaki Peace Park.