2nd Essay Contest on a “Nuclear Weapons Free Future” U-20 Grand Prize Winning Work
<Tentative translation by RECNA>

What Nuclear Weapons Cannot Protect
Haruka Unno
“Can nuclear weapons save the planet?” If someone had asked me this question ayear ago, I would have answered "yes" but with some hesitation. First of all, I had neverseriously thought about the possibility of nuclear weapons being used again anywhere. In
addition, I had only read in textbooks about the damage caused by the nuclear weapons thatfell on my country decades ago, when, as the textbook said, "On August 6, a nuclear weapon
was dropped on Hiroshima, killing about 140,000 people, and on August 9, another nuclear
weapon was dropped on Nagasaki, killing about 70,000 people.” Of course, I felt someresentment that so many civilians had been killed by just two bombs and that people were still
suffering from various radiation-related symptoms, but nuclear weapons were a thing of thepast for me. Therefore, I understood that World War II ended after the use of two bombs, anddue to the fact that some countries possess nuclear weapons, as the term "nuclear deterrence"suggests, there was a Cold War, but no armed conflict known as World War III has yetoccurred. I also understood that peace in Japan was maintained in some way by the presenceof the United States, a nuclear-armed country.
However, my perspective changed drastically when I visited the Nagasaki Atomic
Bomb Museum. As I mentioned earlier, I did not know much about the damage caused by theatomic bombing, so the photos and objects on display, as well as the real voices and picturesof the hibakusha, atomic bomb survivors, were nothing short of shocking to me. It was themoment when “about 210,000 people killed by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima andNagasaki," which had been just a number to me, took on real weight. 78 years ago, an atomic
bomb was actually dropped here, and in an instant, every person who, like me, had lived withthe belief that tomorrow would come, was killed. I was totally horrified by the sheer numberof victims, by the deep grief of the hibakusha and their families and friends, by the fact that I

had lived in the same country, Japan, without knowing it, and by the fact that a nuclear weapon
could be used anywhere, and that I was now standing in a place where so much damage had
been done.
With this vague fear in mind, I took a university course on nuclear weapons this year.

In the lecture, I was exposed to the stories of many more Hiroshima and Nagasaki hibakusha.
I will never forget the story of a hibakusha who said that even a beautiful sunset reminds himof the sky at the time of the atomic bombing. How painful and sad it is to remember that day,

day after day, when he and those around him were deeply wounded. I also learned the storiesof the hibakusha of nuclear tests in many countries and the people who were forced to leave
their homes because of the construction of test sites, as well as those who work in uranium
mines, which I had never heard of before because my awareness was only that nuclear weapons= those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The phrase "Japan is the only country that
suffered from atomic bombing" is often used, and as a result, Japanese people tend to thinkthat the damage caused by nuclear weapons is a story of the past around World War II, butthere are still many people suffering from the damage caused by nuclear weapons.
“Can nuclear weapons save the planet?” If someone were to ask me today, I would
answer "No.” Nuclear weapons have taken many lives and deprived many people of theirlivelihoods on Earth. And even now, the invasion of Ukraine is taking place under the threatof nuclear weapons. Indirectly, nuclear weapons have taken the lives of many citizens andtheir peaceful daily activities. How can we say that these weapons save the planet?
The power of nuclear weapons is too excessive to be held for the sake of peace. In
particular, modern nuclear weapons are said to be several to dozens of times more powerfulthan the nuclear weapons dropped on Nagasaki. Even if we think about it simply, it isimpossible not to think about the time when these weapons, which can destroy the lives oftens of millions of people as well as animals and plants in an instant, will be used. There isalso the fear of the unknown that I felt when I visited in Nagasaki. I was reminded of the
discovery of genetic abnormalities in various creatures in the area around the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant. Although Nagasaki is a city where many people live, I became concerned
about whether there would really be no effects. We should prevent future generations fromfeeling the fear we feel now.
So how can we "save the planet"? Can we save the planet by getting rid of nuclear
weapons? Unfortunately, it will not be that simple. Nuclear weapons are not the only reason
there are only 90 seconds left on the Doomsday Clock. There are many problems on aninternational scale, such as climate change and the loss of social functions due to the spreadof infectious diseases. In the midst of such a spreading international crisis, if nuclear weapons
can be said to be a means of saving the planet, then a gradual reduction in the number ofnuclear weapons would make the critical situation a little better.
What is it that tells us the true horror of nuclear bombs? It is not numbers in
textbooks, nor scientific explanations, but the testimonies of the victims and visits to the actual
sites where the atomic bombs fell. Now that I know this, I would never again say, "Nuclear
weapons can save the planet.”