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“Hiroshima course” hands down wish for nuclear-free world to younger generations

by Hidetoshi Arioka, Staff Writer

The Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi) held the “Hiroshima course” on April 5. This event took place at the International Conference Center Hiroshima and focused on the “10 blank years” after the atomic bombing when there were very few measures or organizations to provide support to the A-bomb survivors. About 280 people, including many junior high and high school students, took part.

Seiko Ikeda, the deputy chair of Hiroshima Hidankyo, shared her experience of the bombing when she was 12, at a location 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter. She then looked back at the years that led up to the first medical care law for A-bomb survivors, established in 1957, and described how the survivors struggled to make a living and persisted in appealing to the Japanese government to address the aftereffects caused by the atomic bombing. “A-bomb survivors have been supporting one another for many years,” she said. “I hope you will convey our belief, as widely as possible, that nuclear weapons and human beings can never coexist.”

Masami Nishimoto, a senior staff writer at the Chugoku Shimbun, also spoke, reflecting on the A-bomb survivors’ movement. Tsugumi Inoue, 15, a first-year student at Hiroshima Prefectural Hiroshima Senior High School, took in their thoughts and remarked, “I want to talk about Hiroshima in my own words and encourage more people to wish for the abolition of nuclear weapons and an end to war.”

To help hand down memories of the atomic bombing to younger generations, in this 70th anniversary year of the atomic bombings, Hidankyo worked together with university students in Hiroshima Prefecture to plan the event. On June 21, a panel discussion with second-generation A-bomb survivors and university students will be held to discuss the theme of nuclear abolition.

(Originally published on April 6, 2015)

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