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After the atomic bomb: Hibakusha tell their stories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2016

Abstract

In this issue, the Review has chosen to feature the voices of hibakusha, those who survived the nuclear bombings in Japan.* These three hibakusha have shared their experiences with the hope that our readers will understand the horrors of nuclear weapons use. They have each suffered and witnessed the horrific suffering of others caused by nuclear weapons, and their families may continue to suffer medical problems for generations to come. Each calls for assurances that nuclear weapons will never be used again. These are their stories.

Type
Voices and perspectives: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Copyright
Copyright © icrc 2016 

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References

* These interviews were conducted in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Vincent Bernard, Editor-in-Chief, and Hitomi Homma, Communication Officer, ICRC Tokyo, on 10, 11 and 12 February 2015.

1 Myelodysplastic syndrome.

2 Dr Tomanga spoke more about this woman in his presentation “The Lifelong Health Effects of Atomic Bombs by Immediate DNA Damage”, Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, Oslo, 4–5 March 2013, available at: www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/ud/vedlegg/hum/hum_tomonaga.pdf.

3 Ibid.

4 Mr Yamamoto has given testimony for the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, which can be read on the organization's website. Sadao Yamamoto, “1st and 2nd Year Students at Hiroshima Second Middle School – A Difference of Life or Death”, Peace Culture English Newsletter, No. 72, January 2015, available at: www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpcf/heiwabunka/pce72/English/08E.html.

5 “Monument”, Wikipedia, available at: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%84%E3%81%97%E3%81%B6%E3%81%BF (in Japanese).

6 Mr Yamawaki has given his testimony at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. You can read another version of that testimony on the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum website. Yoshiro Yamawaki, “The Unforgettable Experience of the Atomic Bombing”, available at: http://nagasakipeace.jp/english/survivors/yoshiro_yamawaki.html.

7 For more discussion on the current state of nuclear arsenals, see Hans Kristensen and Matthew McKinzie's article in this issue of the Review.