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As 70th anniversary of A-bombing is marked, it is time for Hiroshima to show its strength

by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer

Who could have imagined, under that massive mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb, that people today would enjoy a peaceful life in this city of lush greenery? August 6 is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The bombing took scores of lives indiscriminately and devastated the city. In the aftermath of the atomic bombing, rumors flew that nothing would grow in Hiroshima for 70 years. Yet seventy years have now passed and the city has been reborn from this tragedy and the inhumanity it brought. The survivors, however, have had to live lives of hardship over this same duration. Still, they have worked hard to create a world without nuclear weapons, an aim that remains elusive.

August 6, 1945 was the starting point for Hiroshima today. Wounded nursing students struggled to provide aid to the injured as their white uniforms became stained with blood. To sustain the lives of residents, workers made frantic efforts to restore water and electricity to the charred city.

We drink water, use electricity, and see a doctor when we fall ill. These things that we take for granted would be lost again in an instant if a nuclear weapon was used. This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. With concern over two security bills that would enable Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense, people are raising their voices to warn that this country could be pulled into war again.

The world has come to have a better understanding of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. The Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is held every five years, took place at United Nations headquarters in New York this past April and May. At the conference, a joint statement which called for efforts to outlaw nuclear weapons based on their humanitarian impact was supported by a record 159 countries. This is the sixth such statement issued over the past three years.

But the conference also revealed an imposing obstacle to the elimination of nuclear weapons. Before the conference closed, 107 states endorsed a joint statement known as the “Humanitarian Pledge,” which was submitted by the Austrian government. This pledge could serve as the foundation for discussing a ban on nuclear arms. However, neither the nuclear weapon states nor Japan, which itself suffered nuclear attacks, chose to endorse it. Ultimately, the conference broke down over issues involving the creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East. But it is clear that countries which rely on nuclear weapons are against the international trend seeking a legal ban.

Survivors have called nuclear weapons an “absolute evil” and spearheaded the movement for nuclear abolition. But, as of the end of fiscal 2014, the number of survivors totaled 183,519, less than half of the peak recorded in fiscal 1980. Their average age is now 80.13. The time to listen directly to the survivors’ experiences, seared into their bodies and souls, and work with them arm in arm, is fast running out. We cannot afford to waste this precious time.

In April, “memory keepers” of the A-bomb experiences began giving talks after completing a three-year training program. It may well be that only those who experienced the atomic bombings can truly tell their stories. But these memory keepers believe that they can help by taking in the survivors’ wishes and transmitting them to the world. The personal effects of the victims can also convey this sorrow, and the actions made by young people can convey the desire for peace. It is time for Hiroshima to show its strength.

(Originally published on August 5, 2015)

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