Hiroshima Asks: Toward the 70th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing: Representative of Marshall Islands conveys pain of islanders at Bikini Day gathering
Apr. 2, 2015
by Jumpei Fujimura, Staff Writer
“The United States carried out nuclear tests on our land for what they called the good of humanity,” stated Peter Anjain, 42, to some 2,000 people attending the Bikini Day rally on March 1. Mr. Anjain took part in the gathering held in Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture as the representative of residents of the Marshall Islands, located in the central Pacific Ocean.
The United States carried out 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. In particular, the “Bravo” hydrogen bomb test conducted at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954 had the explosive power of 15 megatons, which is about 1,000 times the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Crew members of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (The Lucky Dragon No. 5), a Japanese tuna fishing boat from Yaizu, were also exposed to a large amount of radioactive fallout, or “ashes of death,” from the bomb test.
Mr. Anjain is from Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where 86 residents were exposed to radiation. His relatives suffered from symptoms of acute radiation sickness including hair loss and diarrhea. After the U.S. declared Rongelap safe to inhabit three years after the test, residents returned home. But they suffered thyroid disorders, miscarriages, and stillbirths, and all the residents were forced to leave the atoll again. Mr. Anjain said with chagrin, “Is this what they call the good of humanity?”
In April 2014, the Marshall Islands filed lawsuits at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, against the nuclear weapon states, arguing that they are in violation of international law with respect to their nuclear disarmament obligations.
Holding his fist high, Mr. Anjain said, “If we do not do this, who else will? If we do not act now, when will we act?” These heartfelt words of one resident of a small island nation sank deep into the heart of the whole A-bombed nation.
(Originally published on March 14, 2015)
“The United States carried out nuclear tests on our land for what they called the good of humanity,” stated Peter Anjain, 42, to some 2,000 people attending the Bikini Day rally on March 1. Mr. Anjain took part in the gathering held in Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture as the representative of residents of the Marshall Islands, located in the central Pacific Ocean.
The United States carried out 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. In particular, the “Bravo” hydrogen bomb test conducted at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954 had the explosive power of 15 megatons, which is about 1,000 times the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Crew members of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (The Lucky Dragon No. 5), a Japanese tuna fishing boat from Yaizu, were also exposed to a large amount of radioactive fallout, or “ashes of death,” from the bomb test.
Mr. Anjain is from Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where 86 residents were exposed to radiation. His relatives suffered from symptoms of acute radiation sickness including hair loss and diarrhea. After the U.S. declared Rongelap safe to inhabit three years after the test, residents returned home. But they suffered thyroid disorders, miscarriages, and stillbirths, and all the residents were forced to leave the atoll again. Mr. Anjain said with chagrin, “Is this what they call the good of humanity?”
In April 2014, the Marshall Islands filed lawsuits at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, against the nuclear weapon states, arguing that they are in violation of international law with respect to their nuclear disarmament obligations.
Holding his fist high, Mr. Anjain said, “If we do not do this, who else will? If we do not act now, when will we act?” These heartfelt words of one resident of a small island nation sank deep into the heart of the whole A-bombed nation.
(Originally published on March 14, 2015)
