My Life: Interview with Sunao Tsuboi, Chairperson of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, Part 12
Feb. 4, 2013
Traveling the world
by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer
Calls for abolition of nuclear weapons, which threaten to destroy humanity
As an atomic bomb survivor, Mr. Tsuboi has put a great deal of effort into recounting his experiences. In Japan he has spoken to all sorts of people, including children visiting Hiroshima on school excursions and Buddhist priests. He has traveled abroad 21 times and visited 12 countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Algeria, North Korea and Vietnam, to describe his A-bomb experiences and interact with local people.
We must make far more appeals to the people of the world to abolish nuclear weapons and put an end to war. Many people don’t know anything about the devastation caused by the atomic bombings. We must ensure that no else suffers a lifetime of pain and anxiety as the hibakusha have.
In 1998 India and Pakistan conducted tests of nuclear weapons. In the fall of that year Mr. Tsuboi traveled to Pakistan to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons in conjunction with an exhibition on the A-bombing that was jointly sponsored by the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs and the National Council for Peace and Against Nuclear Weapons.
There were armed soldiers here and there. I like going into back alleys where I can meet ordinary citizens. I went into a coffee shop that was in a sort of shack. There were four or five men there in scruffy clothes. Apparently it was rare for them to encounter a Japanese person, and they welcomed me gladly. Coffee was expensive for them, but they insisted on treating me. I strongly sensed that they felt that our nationalities or ethnicity didn’t matter and we were all human beings.
But in my travels around Pakistan, people insisted that Pakistan had nuclear weapons in order to defend itself, and it seemed it would be difficult to change their minds.
In 2003 Mr. Tsuboi traveled to the U.S. The goal of his fifth trip there was to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum facility (in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.) to protest the display of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
When I saw the Enola Gay I went into a fog. The very sight of it was hateful. The museum said it would not prepare an explanation stating that the Enola Gay had killed civilians when it dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I expressed strong opposition, saying, “The U.S. has not reflected on the A-bombing.” An American citizens’ group also protested. But former military personnel have a lot of influence, and the American public still strongly believes the A-bombing was justified.
It’s important for the atomic bomb survivors to recount their experiences, but people won’t be inspired to action just because of a lot of sob stories. Nuclear weapons cause years of suffering and pose a threat to the survival of the human race. We have to make this inhumanity known in a way that people can understand intellectually. And Japan has to get out from under America’s nuclear umbrella.
(Originally published on February 1, 2013)
by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer
Calls for abolition of nuclear weapons, which threaten to destroy humanity
As an atomic bomb survivor, Mr. Tsuboi has put a great deal of effort into recounting his experiences. In Japan he has spoken to all sorts of people, including children visiting Hiroshima on school excursions and Buddhist priests. He has traveled abroad 21 times and visited 12 countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Algeria, North Korea and Vietnam, to describe his A-bomb experiences and interact with local people.
We must make far more appeals to the people of the world to abolish nuclear weapons and put an end to war. Many people don’t know anything about the devastation caused by the atomic bombings. We must ensure that no else suffers a lifetime of pain and anxiety as the hibakusha have.
In 1998 India and Pakistan conducted tests of nuclear weapons. In the fall of that year Mr. Tsuboi traveled to Pakistan to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons in conjunction with an exhibition on the A-bombing that was jointly sponsored by the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs and the National Council for Peace and Against Nuclear Weapons.
There were armed soldiers here and there. I like going into back alleys where I can meet ordinary citizens. I went into a coffee shop that was in a sort of shack. There were four or five men there in scruffy clothes. Apparently it was rare for them to encounter a Japanese person, and they welcomed me gladly. Coffee was expensive for them, but they insisted on treating me. I strongly sensed that they felt that our nationalities or ethnicity didn’t matter and we were all human beings.
But in my travels around Pakistan, people insisted that Pakistan had nuclear weapons in order to defend itself, and it seemed it would be difficult to change their minds.
In 2003 Mr. Tsuboi traveled to the U.S. The goal of his fifth trip there was to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum facility (in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.) to protest the display of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
When I saw the Enola Gay I went into a fog. The very sight of it was hateful. The museum said it would not prepare an explanation stating that the Enola Gay had killed civilians when it dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I expressed strong opposition, saying, “The U.S. has not reflected on the A-bombing.” An American citizens’ group also protested. But former military personnel have a lot of influence, and the American public still strongly believes the A-bombing was justified.
It’s important for the atomic bomb survivors to recount their experiences, but people won’t be inspired to action just because of a lot of sob stories. Nuclear weapons cause years of suffering and pose a threat to the survival of the human race. We have to make this inhumanity known in a way that people can understand intellectually. And Japan has to get out from under America’s nuclear umbrella.
(Originally published on February 1, 2013)
