International Meeting
2024 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Session 1
KIDO Sueichi, Secretary General
Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations
(Nihon Hidankyo)
Report from Hibakusha
I am now terrified of the fear that a nuclear war may occur. The war and killing in Ukraine and Gaza remind us hibakusha of the tragedy we experienced on August 9, 1945 and the next day August 10. Today, I would like to tell you what I went through on these days, how the atomic bomb took the lives of countless people, how it hurt them and how it destroyed the cities into ruins.
I was 5 years old then and lived with my family at Asahimachi 1-chome, 2km away from the blast center. At about 11 a.m. on August 9, I, my mother and her neighbors were gathered in a small street in front of our house. We were excited because somen noodles, a long-waited delight for us all, were going to be rationed.
I heard the roaring sound of a plane flying over us. At the moment somebody cried, “Looks like an American plane. It looks powerful”, intense flash and enormous blast assaulted us. My mother got burns all over her face and breast. I had a half of my face burned and was blown off by the blast about 20 meters away. If it was one more meter further, I would have found myself dead at the bottom of a river, almost dried up because of low tide.
My mother took me in her arms, calling me “Itchan, Itchan” and fled to an air-raid shelter on the hillside of the Mount Inasa. Strangely, I have tried but never remembered what my mother looked at that time. Probably, we could not eat anything on that day and were exhausted. We finally reached the police station in Inasa. We were taken to the dojo, a training hall of the building and we had the burns applied some oil.
Once laid down on the floor, my mother could not move. She was even unable to open her eyes because of burns. On the following day, August 10, I was given a shining white rice ball. It was so delicious that I recall it even today. In the afternoon, my mother was laid down on a wooden door panel and I was put in a large basket and carried by somebody on his back. We were evacuated to Michinoo.
Mr. Yamahata Yosuke took many photos of the bombing on that day, Aug. 10. I think he and I witnessed similar scenes, with the difference that he walked on the left bank of Urakami River whereas I took the path on the right bank.
In Michinoo, there were some big houses including the summer house that belonged to the president of a lumber company where my father worked. Therefore, from that day on, we could rest much more comfortably.
Dr. HIDA Shuntaro, an A-bomb survivor and a medical doctor who devoted his life to the treatment of the hibakusha, said that there were three factors that determined death or life of the survivors: first is whether they had a safe place to stay and rest, second is whether they had food and third is whether they could receive treatment. In that sense, I think I was fortunate.
The Bikini Incident caused by the US hydrogen bomb test in March 1954 triggered the nationwide movement in Japan for a total ban on. atomic and hydrogen bombs. Inspired by the movement, in 1956, 11 years after the bombing, hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki got together to establish the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bombs Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo). We pledged to “save ourselves and humanity from the nuclear crisis based on our experiences of the A-bombing”. Since then till today, we have not given up and continued to struggle for “never creating another hibakusha”. We have visited various places in Japan and abroad to raise awareness about the actual humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and call for the elimination of nuclear weapons. We also took part in the international conferences on humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, in particular the one that negotiated the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Thus, we contributed to the adoption of the treaty.
Hibakusha have tirelessly and consistently worked for this goal, combatting the atomic bombing.
Recently, I began saying that I have become hibakusha four times.
The first time was that I suffered from the atomic bombing in Nagasaki. However, at that time, I could not understand what suffering from the A-bombing meant. I could not recognize what becoming Hibakusha meant.
The second time was when the “Asahi Graph” magazine was published in August 1952 and reading it, I recognized that I was a hibakusha. At that time, I was a middle school student and was a very average boy, but after that, I sometimes could not help feeling anxious.
The third time was when I founded an association of hibakusha in Gifu in 1991 and joined Hidankyo.
And I think that now is the fourth time. It is more than 30 years since I became a part of the hibakusha movement, joining Hidankyo. Upholding our desire of “no more hibakusha”, we have called for prevention of nuclear war, the elimination of nuclear weapons and state compensation to the hibakusha. I am determined to devote the rest of my life to the effort to achieve a nuclear-free and war-free world.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought about damage on people’s “ lives, bodies, livelihoods and hearts”. Atomic bombs do not allow you either to die or live in dignity as human beings. They are weapons of “insanity” designed only to annihilate. They are absolute evil that humans should not allow to exist. The A-bombing totally changed the world. The world is at stake on whether nuclear weapons will annihilate humanity or humanity will survive by eliminating nuclear weapons.
Big powers such as the U.S. and Russia claim that nuclear deterrence prevent nuclear war. However, the only guarantee to avoid nuclear war is to abolish nuclear weapons. Nuclear deterrence theory is nothing but a “nuclear threat (blackmail) theory.
Ignoring the voices of nearly 80% of the Japanese people saying that the Japanese government should sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Prime Minister Kishida promised the U.S. President Biden to deepen the Japan-U.S. bilateral relations and build a joint military system.
However, it is not a prime minister but the people to determine the present and future of the country. It is also their responsibility for making the government choose not to possess or produce nuclear weapons. The people of nuclear possessing countries have a significant responsibility in this regard. We therefore call on the people of nuclear weapons-possessing countries to work to change the politics of their respective governments.
As for us, we call on the Japanese government to abide by the Constitution and change accordingly the current military-troops-like Self Defense Forces.
Let us strive to build up a bright present and future!