Younger hibakusha, offspring begin to lead anti-nuclear drive

January 8, 2018

Tokyo- The awarding of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, marked a significant step forward for the anti-nuclear movement.

In Japan, with the average age of surviving hibakusha victims of the US atomic bombings of two cities in August 1945 standing above 81, younger hibakusha who were exposed to radiation in the womb or early childhood, as well as children and grandchildren of aging victims, are now carrying the torch in an effort to rid the world of nuclear arms.

Terumi Tanaka, co-chairman of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, a Tokyo-based organization known as Nihon Hidankyo, experienced the nuclear attack on Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945, at age 13. He vividly remembers the charred bodies of his aunt, as well as those of others.

Tanaka has long worked to win public compensation for victims. In recent years, he has often been asked why he is working for people who are dead.

"There is a gap that can't be bridged between us and younger hibakusha who have no clear memories (of the bombing) in terms of feelings for the deceased," said Tanaka, 85, who currently lives in Niiza, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

But at the same time, he said, "We need to hand down forever the stories of the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons."

The atomic bombing of Nagasaki came three days after a nuclear attack on the western Japan city of Hiroshima in the closing days of World War II. They are the only cities in the world to have been attacked with atomic bombs.

Mitsuhiro Hayashida, a 25-year-old graduate school student, took part in anti-nuclear campaigns at the invitation of Tanaka. A Nagasaki native and a grandson of hibakusha, Hayashida has since 2016 led an international signature-collecting drive, mainly involving Nihon Hidankyo, to bring into force the landmark UN treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons, which was adopted in July.

Hayashida, now a resident of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, has initiated new campaigns, including a project to raise funds to finance overseas travel expenses for hibakusha through crowdfunding and an event to share the story of hibakusha at a club with live music in Shibuya, a central Tokyo mecca for young people.

He has been motivated by a lot of hibakusha he came to know in Nagasaki and the Tokyo area. "I've inherited their antinuclear determination. I want to ensure the movement will never give up," Hayashida emphasized.

Masako Wada, 74, was exposed to radiation in the bombing of Nagasaki when she was one year old, so she has little memory of the attack.

Wada, a Yokohama resident, assumed the post of assistant secretary-general at Nihon Hidankyo in June 2015 as part of the rejuvenation of the organization's leadership team. She then started providing testimony at the United Nations and in Japan, narrating the stories she heard personally from her mother, who was also exposed to radiation.

Wada initially hesitated to talk of an event she does not actually remember. After learning more about the history of the victims in Nagasaki, however, "I thought I had to take over the crusade of my seniors who died after doing all they could," she said.

"I can't speak of what I saw (in the atomic bombing), but I can take charge of the past," Wada said, explaining her belief behind the work of testifying on the cruelty of nuclear weapons. Jiji Press