Japan’s aging atomic bombs speak against nuclear weapons

Hiroshima, Japan (AP) – eighty years after atomic bombing Hiroshima And NagasakiA decreasing number of aging Japanese survivors is being disappointed with increasing nuclear threats and the acceptance of nuclear weapons by global leaders.

On August 6, 1945, the US attack on Hiroshima and three days later on Nagasaki, more than 200,000 people died by the end of that year. Other people survived but with radiation disease.

Around 100,000 people are still alive. Many people hid their experiences to protect themselves and their families from discrimination which are still present. Other people could not talk about what happened to them due to trauma.

Some survivors have started speaking late in their lives, expecting others to be encouraged to push for the end of nuclear weapons.

An English speaking guide at Peace Park in Hiroshima

Despite several health issues, 83 -year -old Kunihiko Ida has dedicated his retirement years to tell its story as a way of advocating nuclear disarmament.

He is a volunteer as a guide at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. He wants to raise awareness among foreigners as he feels that he lacks his understanding about bombing.

It took him 60 years to publicly talk about his ordinance.

When the United States dropped a uranium bomb on Hiroshima, Id was 900 meters (yards) away from the hyposator, where his mother was a big -time.

He was 3 years old. He remembers the intensity of the explosion. It was as if he was thrown out of a building. He found himself alone under the debris, there was bleeding from the breaking glass shark throughout the body.

“Mummy, help!” He tried to scream, but his voice did not come out. He was eventually rescued by his grandfather.

Within a month, his 25 -year -old mother and 4 -year -old sister died after the nozzle, skin problems and fatigue developed. The primary school had similar radiation effects as IIDA, although they gradually achieved their health.

He was about 60 years old when he eventually visited the Peace Park in the hyposator, asked for the first time after the bombing, his age to keep his company.

It was not easy when he decided to tell his story. Overwhelmed by Bhavna, it took him a few years before speaking publicly.

In June, he met at the government-commission peace program with students from Paris, London and Warsaw. Despite their concerns, how their calls for atomic eradication would be considered in nuclear-cosmetics such as Britain and France, they received applause and handshakes.

IIDA states that he tries to imagine students after a nuclear attack, how it will destroy both sides and overtake excessive radioactive contamination.

“The only way to peace is the abolition of nuclear weapons. There is no other way,” IIDA said.

A regular in anti-war

Protest

The 86 -year -old Fumiko Doi does not avoid the atomic bombing on Nagasaki, if it was a train that was on time. The train was scheduled to reach Urkami station around 11 am when the bomb was dropped over a nearby cathedral.

With delay, the train was 5 kilometers (3 mi) away. Through the windows, the doi, then 6, saw flash. He covered his eyes and looked at the body of broken windows as rain. Nearby passengers covered him for safety.

People burnt their hair on the road. His face was charcoal black and his clothes were in pieces, he said.

Doo told his children about the experience of experience in writing, but hidden his position as a survivor for fear of prolonged discrimination.

Doi married another survivor. He is worried that his four children will suffer from radiation effects. Two of her mother and her three brothers died of cancer, and two sisters struggled with their health.

Her father, a local officer, was raised to collect the bodies and develop symptoms of radiation soon. Later he became a teacher and described what he saw, his grief and pain in poetry, a tear doi explained.

Doo started speaking after watching 2011 Fukushima Daichi Atomic Disaster After a strong earthquake and tsunami, which led to radioactive contamination.

She travels from her home in Fukuoka to attend anti-war rallies, and speaks against nuclear weapons.

“Some people have forgotten about the atomic bomb blasts … it is sad,” he said, seeing that some countries still have more powerful nuclear weapons officers than those used 80 years ago.

“If someone collides with Japan, we will be destroyed. If more is used all over the world, it is the end of the earth,” he said. “So I grab every chance to speak.”

In Hiroshima, learn from the remaining people

After 2023 Hiroshima G7 meeting Global leaders and Nobel Peace Prize were given to a group of people at the ground level Nihon hidanko Last year, visitors to Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Museums have increased, about one third of which are coming from abroad.

On a recent day, most of the visitors at Hiroshima Peace Park were non-Japanese. An American, Samantha Anne said that she wanted her children to understand the bombing.

“This reminds how much a decision a decision can be,” Anne said.

The 74 -year -old volunteer, Katsumi Takahashi, who specializes in directed routes of the region, welcome foreign visitors, but worrying about the Japanese youth about ignoring their own history.

On the way to his home, IIDA, survivor and guide were stopped by a monument dedicated to the slain children. Millions of colorful paper cranes, known as a symbol of peace, were hanged nearby, sent from all over the world.

Even a brief encounter with a survivor made the tragedy more real, Melani Gringoire, a French visitors, said after the IIDA’s visit. “It is like sharing a small piece of history.”

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Associated press video journalists Mayco Ono and Ayaka McGil contributed to the report.

Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press