US EditionJapan’s aging atomic bomb survivors speak out against nuclear weapons
JAPAN, AUG 5 – About 100,000 survivors known as hibakusha remain, urging nuclear disarmament amid rising global nuclear threats, as recognized by the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to survivor group Nihon Hidankyo.
- On the morning of August 6, 1945, a uranium atomic bomb was released over Hiroshima by the United States, instantly killing nearly 80,000 people and resulting in a total death toll exceeding 200,000 by the end of that year.
- The survivors, known as hibakusha, number about 99,130 as of March 2023, dwindling due to age with an average of 86 years, while global interest surged after the 2023 Hiroshima G7 summit.
- Many aging hibakusha like Kunihiko Iida, who was 900 meters from the blast, now speak publicly to share their experiences and advocate nuclear disarmament.
- Iida emphasized that eliminating nuclear weapons is the sole way to achieve peace, while visitors often express that meeting a survivor firsthand brings a deeper understanding of the tragedy.
- As hibakusha numbers decline, their testimonies aim to educate new generations and discourage nuclear weapon use amid rising global acceptance and threats.
134 Articles
134 Articles
With the Nobel Peace Prize awarded in 2024 to the organization Nihon Hidankyo, the civil society of the archipelago alarms the international security environment. Back from some local policies, activists insist that Tokyo finally sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Satoshi Tanaka, who suffered with one year the atomic bomb that the U.S. dropped on Japan on August 6, 1945, recalls that many leaders flirt with the nuclear button and fears that the memories of the disaster will be diluted as the survivors die
It has been 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Since the end of World War II, the use of nuclear weapons in actual combat has been narrowly avoided. However, not only is the road to nuclear abolition, as desired by atomic bomb survivors, still long, but the "nuclear taboo" is gradually being broken, with Russia using nuclear weapons as a means of intimidation. How should we face a world where the risk of…
A Hiroshima survivor breaks decades of silence: 'Speaking about it could be seen as shameful, for the person or their family'
Toshiko Tanaka, now 86, kept silent about her trauma for 65 years. Today, she travels the world to campaign against nuclear weapons and is scheduled to speak on Japanese television during the commemoration of the August 6, 1945 bombing.
‘I tried to scream, but…’: Hiroshima survivor breaks 60-year silence on atomic bomb horror
Kunihiko Iida, a Hiroshima survivor, shares his traumatic experience of the 1945 atomic bombing. Now 83, he speaks out to ensure the horrors of nuclear warfare are remembered, especially as global nuclear threats rise again.
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