×

News

A-bomb testimony delivered from Hiroshima to U.S. via videoconference

by Toshiko Bajo, Staff Writer

A testimony by an A-bomb survivor (hibakusha) was provided through an internet videoconferencing system, connecting Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in the U.S. state of Missouri on March 2. Kenji Kitagawa, 75, a professor emeritus at Hiroshima University and a resident of Hiroshima, shared his experience of the atomic bombing with people around the world.

At the age of 10, Mr. Kitagawa experienced the atomic bombing at Takeya Elementary School at a distance of 1.3 km southeast from the hypocenter. In the meeting room at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, he sat in front of a camera with Steven Leeper, 62, chairman of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, who served as interpreter.

Mr. Kitagawa related his experiences of the bombing, including being under the wreckage of a school building that had collapsed. He emphasized, "I am still very sorry for those who were trapped under the debris and I could not help. Atomic bombs should never be used again."

In the United States, about 40 citizens, including students of Webster University in Missouri, watched Mr. Kitagawa offer his testimony. About 230 others in different countries such as Japan, the United States, Canada and Brazil also joined in the viewing.

The students from Webster University visited Hiroshima last June. They organized this internet conference to communicate the tragic nature of the bombing that they came to understand. They chose the venue due to the fact that the library bears the name of President Truman, the man who ordered that the bombs be dropped.

Mr. Leeper commented, "Some survivors fall sick when they travel all the way to the United States. In this way, we were able to share the message of hibakusha with the rest of the world from here in Hiroshima."

(Originally published on March 3, 2010)

Related articles
U.S. citizens' group calls for peace through cut-out paper hands (June 10, 2009)

Archives