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by Michio Shimotaka, Staff Writer

On August 5, 1972, John Anjain, who had been exposed to radiation from nuclear testing conducted by the United States on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, located in the central Pacific Ocean, visited Hiroshima City for the first time. Fifty years old at the time, he was in the city to attend the World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, organized by the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs (Gensuikin). He called for solidarity with the A-bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to fight together for the abolition of nuclear weapons, which he characterized as horrifyingly destructive.

Unknown damages

On March 1, 1954, the United States detonated a hydrogen bomb with an explosive power equivalent to approximately 1,000 times that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Huge volumes of “ashes of death” (radioactive fallout) also fell on Rongelap Atoll, located around 170 kilometers east of Bikini Atoll and home to 86 people. While the radiation exposure suffered by the Japanese tuna fishing boat the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon No. 5) from the same bomb test heralded a movement to ban atomic and hydrogen bombs around Japan, damages to the local affected areas remained largely unknown.

Prompted by the participation of young activists representing Micronesia in the World Conference held in August 1971, Gensuikin dispatched a survey team to the Marshall Islands later that year, in December. Although Gensuikin members were refused access to Rongelap and other areas under U.S. trusteeship, they conducted interviews with people in the present-day capital of Majuro and increased momentum for the participation in the conference of exposed victims.

Mr. Anjain, a leader of Rongelap, held a press conference in Tokyo when he arrived at Haneda Airport on August 2, 1972, sharing his experiences on the test date March 1, 1954.

At that time, he was enjoying a morning cup of coffee in front of his house when a flash of light suddenly streaked across the western sky. Soon after, there was the sound of an explosion followed by a hot wind accompanied by something resembling white powder falling from the sky, some of which landed in his coffee. Around noon, his body began to feel strange, and by nightfall, he said he experienced intense pain over his entire body and a burning sensation in his stomach.

In conjunction with the conference in Hiroshima, Mr. Anjain visited Peace Memorial Park (in the city’s present-day Naka Ward) and laid flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. He also visited the Hiroshima Atomic-bomb Survivors Hospital, located in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, together with Ichiro Moritaki, chair of the Gensuikin organization at the time. On that visit, Mr. Anjain presented presenting bouquets of flowers to patients, informing them of his status as a victim of radiation exposure and expressing his hopes for their quick recovery.

However, in November, after returning home, he lost his son, Lekoj, who had been exposed to radiation when he was one year of age, from leukemia. He was only 19.

Later, Mr. Anjain’s younger brother, Nelson, also visited Japan with others, making an appeal for support of nuclear victims and the abolition of nuclear weapons. In 1974, Japanese journalists led by Tetsuo Maeda, 86, a resident of Saitama Prefecture, were among the first to visit Rongelap and report on the suffering endured by the local populations. The Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo) also sent delegations to the area intermittently to uncover the damages there.

Involving the issue of nuclear testing, in September 1968, the Hiroshima City government sent its first letter of protest to France, a country that had also conducted nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean, stating that “nuclear testing will bring about complete annihilation of the human race.” From that time on, the city has sent letters of protest to each nation reported to have conducted a test, regardless of the country. The two Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo) and other groups have engaged in sit-in protests in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims to express their objections to nuclear testing, with Hiroshima City Mayor Setsuo Yamada participating in a sit-in conducted in August 1973.

Carrying on his wishes

Meanwhile, India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, signaling to the world that the spread of nuclear weapons would not cease. Even after the World Conference in 1972, Mr. Anjain continued to visit Japan to call for a ban on atomic and hydrogen bombs. He passed away in 2004 at the age of 83.

Mr. Anjain’s niece, Abacca, 58, expressed her regret, saying that her uncle John’s wish for all parents to be able to live fulfilling lives with their children in an environment free of nuclear weapons had not been achieved. She added his belief that, through cooperation with the people of Japan, voices calling for the United States to act in a fair and just manner would grow ever louder. She has carried on his wishes.

(Originally published on April 20, 2025)