Hiroshima survivors share A-bomb accounts in Geneva, call for nuclear abolition
May 1, 2013
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
GENEVA--On the sidelines of the Second Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor recounted his experience of the atomic bombing on April 23. Kunihiko Sakuma, 68, a resident of Nishi Ward, Hiroshima, said that the future of the human race, and of the Earth itself, hinges on eliminating nuclear weapons. Mr. Sakuma brought with him a survey form which confirms his exposure to the radioactive “black rain” which fell in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. The survey was conducted by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), located in Minami Ward, Hiroshima.
The main organizer of Mr. Sakuma’s speech was a U.S. peace organization. Representatives of national governments taking part in the preparatory committee also listened to Mr. Sakuma, who was sent to Switzerland by the Hiroshima Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs.
Mr. Sakuma was exposed to the atomic bomb in the Koi area (now part of Nishi Ward), about 3 kilometers from the hypocenter, when he was nine months old. As his mother fled, carrying him on her back, they were caught in the black rain. Ten years after the bombing, he began to suffer from kidney and liver ailments and was absent from school for a long period of time. The fear of death haunted him.
In 2011, it was learned that RERF had been in possession of data collected from 13,000 people who were thought to have been exposed to the black rain in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. After making inquiries, Mr. Sakuma discovered that his mother was one of those who had been interviewed by RERF staff.
Mr. Sakuma stressed that A-bomb survivors have suffered both mentally and physically. Referring to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant, he argued that human beings cannot coexist with nuclear power or nuclear weapons.
Toshiki Fujimori, 69, the assistant secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, also related his experience of the Hiroshima bombing. The fate of his sister, who was in the hypocenter area when the A-bomb blast occurred, is still unknown. Mr. Fujimori, a resident of Chino, Nagano Prefecture, called nuclear arms “weapons of the devil.”
(Originally published on April 24, 2013)
GENEVA--On the sidelines of the Second Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor recounted his experience of the atomic bombing on April 23. Kunihiko Sakuma, 68, a resident of Nishi Ward, Hiroshima, said that the future of the human race, and of the Earth itself, hinges on eliminating nuclear weapons. Mr. Sakuma brought with him a survey form which confirms his exposure to the radioactive “black rain” which fell in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. The survey was conducted by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), located in Minami Ward, Hiroshima.
The main organizer of Mr. Sakuma’s speech was a U.S. peace organization. Representatives of national governments taking part in the preparatory committee also listened to Mr. Sakuma, who was sent to Switzerland by the Hiroshima Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs.
Mr. Sakuma was exposed to the atomic bomb in the Koi area (now part of Nishi Ward), about 3 kilometers from the hypocenter, when he was nine months old. As his mother fled, carrying him on her back, they were caught in the black rain. Ten years after the bombing, he began to suffer from kidney and liver ailments and was absent from school for a long period of time. The fear of death haunted him.
In 2011, it was learned that RERF had been in possession of data collected from 13,000 people who were thought to have been exposed to the black rain in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. After making inquiries, Mr. Sakuma discovered that his mother was one of those who had been interviewed by RERF staff.
Mr. Sakuma stressed that A-bomb survivors have suffered both mentally and physically. Referring to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant, he argued that human beings cannot coexist with nuclear power or nuclear weapons.
Toshiki Fujimori, 69, the assistant secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, also related his experience of the Hiroshima bombing. The fate of his sister, who was in the hypocenter area when the A-bomb blast occurred, is still unknown. Mr. Fujimori, a resident of Chino, Nagano Prefecture, called nuclear arms “weapons of the devil.”
(Originally published on April 24, 2013)
