Features

by Masayoshi Ishikawa, Staff Writer

This feature series on the past and future of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) originally began to appear in the Chugoku Shimbun in March 2007.

Unbroken chain of health concerns

The life of a small boy, a second generation A-bomb survivor, came to an end at a hospital in Hiroshima on February 22, 1968. His name was Fumiki Nagoya and he was seven years old. Fumiki developed leukemia and passed away after battling the disease for two years and eight months.

His parents wrote about their son in a memoir entitled "I Wanted to Live." The memoir seeks to tell the world about the presence of second-generation A-bomb survivors, who are living with health concerns. A recitation play has also been created based on the memoir and Fumiki's story has been handed down in many places.

Yoshiki Nagoya, 51, Fumiki's older brother and a resident of Nishi Ward, Hiroshima, has been engaged in clerical work at a hospital in Asaminami Ward. When his younger brother was hospitalized, he was put under his grandparents' care at their house in Hiroshima. "Strangely, I don't have an image of my brother being seriously ill," he said. "My parents rarely talked about him at home." His parents, while speaking out to the Japanese public about the health concerns caused by the atomic bombing, refrained from talking about such concerns at home to avoid making Yoshiki, who is also a second-generation A-bomb survivor, feel uneasy.

Yoshiki's mother Misao, who died in 1986 at the age of 56, experienced the atomic bombing at her home in Higashi Ward, 2.3 kilometers from the hypocenter. At the time, she was a fourth-year student at First Hiroshima Prefectural Girls' High School (now, Funairi High School). After the war, she worked as a secretary at a labor union and was involved in editing collections of writing by hibakusha that were published by citizens' groups. While Misao was busy backing antinuclear campaigns and campaigns for A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) with her husband Kenzo, who was a high school teacher and died in 2004 at the age of 75, Fumiki developed leukemia.

"Misao had a lot of strength. She was persistent and tireless in her efforts to convey and document the grief of parents who had lost a child," recalled Miyako Yano, 75, vice chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Kazushi Kaneko. Ms. Yano was two years younger than Misao and attended the same high school. Together they edited collections of writing by hibakusha.

As "Fumiki's mother," Misao was a central figure among mothers of her generation. When Ms. Yano told Misao about her experience of giving birth to her first son, who was apparently stillborn but survived, Misao pointed to her lack of concern over a possible connection to the atomic bombing. After that, Misao took Ms. Yano under her wing and brought her to peace-related gatherings.

In one piece of writing, Misao laid bare her feelings toward the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC), which conducted research on the genetic effects of radiation on second-generation A-bomb survivors. Two years before Fumiki died, she contributed an essay titled "My Child's Fight Against Leukemia" to a booklet for an organization supporting second-generation A-bomb survivors. She wrote: "ABCC and the hospitals say that the poor health of our children has nothing to do with our A-bomb experiences. But in their hearts, hibakusha all believe that there is some connection. We don't know how far into the future our descendants -- second-, third-, and fourth-generation A-bomb survivors -- will continue to be victimized by the atomic bombing."

Yoshiki Nagoya has now become a father of three. "When my children are sick in bed, even for just a short while, I feel on edge and I fear that they may be like Fumiki," he revealed.

In the waiting room of his hospital, the lights were already turned off when I asked Yoshiki, who had finished his work day, about the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), which has taken over ABCC's work of pursuing research. Even in the latest results of the study on second-generation A-bomb survivors, the genetic effects of radiation have not been made clear. "I'm concerned that the genetic effects have not yet been clarified," he said. "Still, it's better than hearing them announce that the atomic bombing has genetic effects on future generations. I couldn't stand more fear being stirred up." At that moment I felt the keen love of a father for his children.

(Originally published on March 22, 2007)