For the 2010 NPT Review Conference

Messages from Hibakusha< Digest Version>

NIHON HIDANKYO( Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations )About “Messages from Hibakusha”
were written by those in the hospital. Some
Hibakusha simply put their names and put a circle
over one of the choices- - “ abolition of nuclear
weapons.”

We collected “ Messages from Hibakusha( Abomb survivor/ s) ” from all over Japan with the
expectation that the 64 years of Hibakusha’ ssuffering will be reflected in the deliberations of the2010 NPT Review Conference and that theConference will pave the way for prohibition andabolition of nuclear weapons.
We asked Hibakusha to answer the following
three questions, including open-ended questions andmultiple-choice questions:
Q 1: Having lived for more than sixty years as a
Hibakusha, what would you like to say to theworld about the suffering that the atomic bombs
brought to humanity?
Q 2: What are your expectations of (A) the Japanese
Government and ( B) the U. S. Government as
the 2010 NPT Review Conference approaches?
Q 3: What are your expectations of the United
Nations?

70-80% of the Hibakusha used their own words
to answer these questions from which the quotationsin this digest version were selected. We hope these
Hibakusha’s words, however short they may be, will
convey the depths of their physical and psychologicalwounds and their strong wish for nuclear abolition
and war renunciation based on their belief that noother person in this world should go through the kindof hardship that they endured. We also hope thatthese messages will communicate the urgency of
Hibakusha’s expectation for the leadership role that
the U.S., which has the “moral responsibility to act”
as “the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear
weapon,” and Japan, which has “the responsibility forhumankind as the only country that suffered nuclear
weapon attacks, ” can play together to propel theUnited Nations and the world to abolish nuclear
weapons.

1, 030 Hibakusha from 46 Prefectures
responded to the survey conducted during a brief two-month time span. Respondents ranged in age from a
63-year old, who was exposed to radiation in-utero, toa 97-year old. 39% of the respondents were age 15 to
19 at the time of the exposure and 40% were under
14 years of age. Many filled out the form from top tobottom with small letters. Some were almost illegible
as they were written with shaky hands and some

Here is the result of the multiple-choice part of
the Q2 as reference material to help readers
understand Hibakusha' s messages better. ( These
questions allowed respondents to give more than one
answer.)Q2. As the NPT Review Conference approaches, what is your strongest request for theJapanese and the U.S. Governments?
A.To the Japanese Government:
1) Educate the world on the realities of the A-bombing exposure experience2) Provide national compensation for the A-bomb victims3) Legislate the Three Non-Nuclear Principals
4) As a country that experienced A-bombing, urgenuclear weapon
states to abolish their nuclear weapons
5) Keep Article 9 of the Constitution
B.To the U.S. Government:
1) Apologize to Hibak usha
2) Declare non-use of nuclear weapons
3) Stop diplomacy based on nuclear threat4) Be a leader of nuclear abolition

818 (79.4%)
716 (69.5%)
630 (61.2%)
839 (81.5%)628 (61.0%)644 (62.5%)
781 (75.8%)
467 (45.3%)
830 (80.6%)

Note: the first line of each message indicates the identification number used in thesurvey, gender, and the age at the time of bombing.

11. After living more than 60 years as an A-bomb-survivor (Hibakusha), what are
you most mindful of, what do you want to tell the people of the world about
the life and death which the A-bomb (nuclear weapons) brings on humanbeings?
The scene full of injured people runningaway from ground- zero, with their arms
thrusting forward, reminds me, even tothis day, of Hell on earth.
I used to be an athlete, usually the top
or second in Hiroshima Prefecture. But
after the explosion of the bomb, myhealth declined, and I have been in andout of hospital since then. Starting when I
was 45, I was hospitalized three times foranemia, once for liver trouble, and once
for stomach disease over a period of three#13088 (Hiroshima, M, 29)“ Mummy, my legs ache so bad! Just
cut them off!,” “I can’t bear the pain in myarms.
Soldiers,
help me! ”
Heartwrenching cries were everywhere. One
seriously injured person, gripping thetrousers of a soldier, begged him to ‘Giveme water!’ After opening a water bottle,
he grabbed it and drank from it, gulping
it down loudly, then dropped it, and diedon the spot. It was really a hell on earth, apandemonium, full of the cries for help,
screeches and screams of pain.
The atomic bomb is a lethal weaponthat annihilates human kind.

years. Countless times I’ ve wished that I
had died then. Now I live walking onlywith the help of a cane.
As we Japanese are the first nationthat suffered the effects of nuclear
explosions on earth, we hope to convey toall the people of the world how truly
dreadful nuclear bombs really are.

#11008 (Hiroshima, M, 16)
I was in my fourth year at Hiroshima
Kouryou Secondary School, and, being
mobilized in a student work corps at anational railway factory, I went there thatday and entered the workroom with the#11026 (Hiroshima, M, 4)oil- supplying machines when I was
blinded by a flash of light. After a few
seconds my head and legs were hit bytiles blasted by the nuclear explosion. I
walked one mile directly back to
Shiroshima- Kyuuken- Machi where I had
moved during the war, to find my houseburnt down. My parents survived, though
my father had his legs injured and could
not walk, and my mother had her facewounded by broken glass and it was
bleeding. We spent the night outside.
Among the dead bodies, burnt people
cried for water. We carried water to them, but could not save them. Some people
had worms in their rotting wounds andwe could not even identify their gender.

Inferno, filled with dead bodies with
their faces like those of devils. Theylooked this way to me, who was four years
old then. They still linger in my mind,
and I cannot run away from them.

#27001 (Nagasaki, M, 7)
Lots of people died on the sixth andthe ninth of August, 1945, on those hot
days, burnt, crying, “It’s hot!” and “Giveme water! . ” I also am really sorry for
those tens of thousands of people whodied on the spot, being scorched alive.

#13185 (Nagasaki, M, 19)
We should speak, in as many ways as
possible,about the over 100, 0002Hibakusha, when they died crying forwater right after the explosion of theatomic bomb, more than about those whoare alive now.

pangs, because I had been told water
would kill them.
Those Hibakusha alive now areashamed or feel guilt for being alive. Still,wars are being fought in many places on
earth.
I believe that wars and nuclear bombs
are unnecessary for human beings andwill surely bring unhappiness to them.

#13130 (Hiroshima, M, 13)
On that day, in the hell brought on by
an atomic explosion, I really thought that
I was witnessing the last day of the earth
and the extinction of human kind.
Hibakusha themselves were no longer
human beings in the hell. I, a Hibakusha,
ran away from other Hibakusha who were
crying for help.
I had been brought up in Nakajimaku, right at the centre of ground zero.
Because of illness, I failed the entrance
examination to be admitted into
secondary school, and was forced to leave
our home and move to the Dambara
District. Among my family, my father,
who worked at the Chunichi Newspaper(his office was 900 metres from our home),
and my younger brother were killed by
the bomb. Those who had brought me up
in Nakajima were, all of them, killed. My#11041 (Hiroshima, M, 3)
We,
the sufferers of a nuclear
explosion, lost our humanity at thatmoment. Fully occupied with saving ourown lives, we did nothing to save others.
Nuclear weapons killed human beings,
humanity, and so many living creatures.
Nuclear weapons are satanic. They
destroy humankind. We human beings
must never forget this.

#01027 (Hiroshima, M, 16)
I was very lucky to survive theexplosion, though I was very close to thecentre. But I could do nothing, justlooking at those who had lost humanshapes and died around me, neither
saving them nor even helping them; therepentance and the guilt still torture me.
Given the rumour that an A- bomb
sufferer must not leave descendants, I
married late, and when I did havechildren, I strongly wished them never to
see that disastrous scene, and never tohear those cries for water.
I do not speak of my family only.
I would like to convey to all the peopleon earth that nuclear weapons destroy
the earth through the hands of humanbeings, and that people must appreciate
the happiness they enjoy living on apeaceful earth.

friends who had entered boys’ secondary
schools and girls’ schools were mobilized
to evacuate houses for the war. Fifty-nine
hundred of them were killed, without
seeing their parents who came to savethem. Since then I have worked to convey
their hopes and dreams to all humanbeings.
“Those who made atomic bombs were
human beings; those who used them were
human; and those who will abolish them
are also human. ” But nuclear bombs areatrocious weapons that cannot co- exist
with human beings.

#13041 (Nagasaki, F, 6)
I am still not free from the sense of
guilt whenever I remember that I refused
to give water to those who asked me for it,
fighting thirst and the painful throat#35013 (Hiroshima, F, 9)
I was nine years old when I was hit by
the nuclear explosion and was buried

3under the crushed school building. My
father ( 41 years old) , mother ( 35 years
old) , brother ( 12 years old) and sister(two years old) were all killed on the spot.

so. Although two years later I had an
operation, it failed to move again as if the
hip bone and leg bone had become fused.
So I have been forced to limp on my bad

Their bodies being lost, I cannot tell how
they died, nor where! In a moment,
everything around me changed to a heapof rubble, where lay innumerable people
groaning; it was truly a hell on earth.
Sixty- four years have passed sincethen, but I am still dragging the sorrows
and pain I experienced then. No medicine
can heal wounds in the mind. It might
have been better had I died then andthere with my parents.

leg for over 60 years.
War is detestable. Nuclear weapons
are the most atrocious thing on earth.
Even if you survive the explosion, youhave a lifetime of suffering to faceafterward. We must never allow ourchildren and grandchildren to have such
miserable experiences as this. I strongly
appeal to the nuclear powers to abolishnuclear bombs.

#13193 (Nagasaki, F, 10)
What the atomic bomb brings upon us
is not simply to kill, to wound and torture
Hibakusha and to destroy everything on
the spot, but to burden us with heavier
torment, lasting throughout our lives
until we die. We would like to convey tothe world not only the fears we carry on
ourselves,
but also the anxiety ofradiation effects that might affectHibakusha descendents. Recently, my
child was diagnosed with cancer, which
may have been a genetic effect resulting
from the radioactivity. I want humanity tounderstand the anxiety which has forever
been torturing me.

#42037 (Nagasaki, F, 8)
I have lived 72 years, while losing myfamily, my property and everything I had,being left alone. But I never forget thatmoment when the atomic bomb was
dropped. My family of nine members,
who had lived happily in a newly built
house, disappeared right after that last
breakfast without saying a word, leaving
me alone.
Nobody should have this kind ofexperience. Nagasaki must be the lastplace where an atomic bomb was, andwill ever be dropped. Weeping with tears,
I have talked of the nuclear disaster tothe students who come to Nagasaki onschool excursions.

#34049 (Hiroshima, M, 19)
Though I had been rather proud of
my health and strength before I was hit
by that explosion, my health has declined
since then, and I lost my confidence andcontracted illnesses. Medicines have been
an indispensable means to sustain my life,and I have not spent a single day without
taking them from when I turned 26 until#43022 (Nagasaki, F, 16)
My mother was 44 years old and myyoungest sister was one year and six
months old when they were killed by the
nuclear explosion. My father, though heused to be healthy, died ten years later at
the age of 54, having worked everyday incollecting and burying the dead bodies
after the bombing.
I suffered from severe fever and lost
mobility in my left hip. At first even mysurgeon was unable to tell why it becamenow ( I’ m 84) . Every day now I visit thehospital. This is the reality: Hibakusha
live with anxiety until they die.

4

hit by nuclear bombs cannot be free fromthat Hell on the earth. Nuclear weapons
threaten peace and the peaceful lives ofhumans.

#40060 (Nagasaki, M, 17)
Sixty- four years after the end of theWar, I am still assaulted daily by the fear
and anxiety about the after- effects ofradioactivity, still uneasy and terrified bythinking of the effects on my children
and grandchildren.
Even medical
specialists say that they cannot tell,which makes us more nervous. I live day
by day scared as I cannot be sure when I
will be attacked by what kind of disease.
Nuclear bombs do not permit us tohave a peaceful life. Never again can one
be dropped on earth.

After sixty years and more since I was
subjected to the nuclear explosion, I still
carry war in my mind and body. My
children have sustained my life and paid
the medical expense for the illnesses I
have suffered from the nuclear explosion.
I have sacrificed their lives as well as myown.

#13011 (Nagasaki, M, 13)
As long as even a single nuclear bomb
remains on this earth, Hibakusha willcontinue to suffer. The atomic bomb that

#34006 (Hiroshima, M, 2)
Many of my relatives were killed by
the explosion,and even those who
survived the initial blast died one after
another. Four who were certified atomic
bomb survivors died during the past three
years. Two children of my relatives diedof acute leukemia. I am scared that thismight happen to my own children.

exploded in Nagasaki was “ the last
nuclear bomb. ” Since then quite a few
nuclear bombs have been made, withwhich we are forced to live. This is theunbearable anguish of Hibakusha now.

#13030 (Hiroshima, F, 11)
I would like to have all the people of
the world know the real danger ofnuclear bombs. Please listen to the criesof the hearts of those who, though having
survived the first shock of the explosion,#27013 (Hiroshima, F, 1)
When I was one year and four months
old, though I do not remember it myself, I
entered Hiroshima carried on the back of
my mother, looking for my father who
had been directly hit by the explosion.
While I was still a child, I wondered why
my parents ( especially my father) were
not healthy. I understood the reason when
I became a junior- high- school student.
Both of them died at the age of 65.
Now arriving at the age of their death, I can understand how they felt, howmortifying it was to have lost theirhousehold together with their health. I
want say that very ordinary families werealso victims of the atomic bombs.

died one after another of unknown,
unidentified causes. ( Fortunately I am
still alive. ) Only then shall the people of
the world work in earnest in the
campaign of abolishing nuclear weapons.

#42012 (Nagasaki, M, 8)
I hope everyone on earth will realize
what will happen to human beings and totheir surroundings once a nuclear bombis used. Then they will understand why
Hibakusha have been crying, ‘ No more
nuclear bombs.’#34013 (Hiroshima, F, 33)#13060 (Hiroshima, M, 29)

I was deeply impressed when I heard

I am scared not only of my own health,but for the health of my children andPresident Obama’ s speech. Any country

5

grandchildren. Even if nuclear bombs are
undesirable, as long as even only one
remains on earth, nobody is free from thepossibility of becoming a Hibakusha.

until far in the future.
As the number of nuclear powers isincreasing now,with international
disputes and terrorism being prevalent,
all the people on the earth are under the
threat of nuclear bombs. Hiroshima andNagasaki are not historical events far in
the past. Please do think seriously of thisthreat as your own.

#42021 (Nagasaki, M, 7)
I have lived for more than 60 years. I
cannot tell how much longer I will survive,
but to tell the truth, I have hated both
Japan and America for starting the war.
That is what happened in the past. I wantto tell all the people in the world that wemust abolish and destroy nuclear
weapons. I still suffer from various kindsof sickness. People should be able to do
whatever they like, except create war.

#11023 (Nagasaki, M, 15)
As a member of the only nation that
suffered through nuclear explosions, I
have nothing to say out aloud other thanthese three words: “No Nuclear Weapons.”
Whenever I recall those monstrous
disasters, my heart is choked with anger,
hatred and enmity that shake my wholebody.
I truly hope to see a joint declarationof no war and no use of nuclear weapons
by the United Nations, the United States
and all other nuclear powers.

#13188 (Nagasaki, F, 2)
As Hibakusha are getting old, we areafraid of the near future when no one willbe left to talk first-hand of the fears andsuffering of Hibakusha, and we fear that
history may repeat the tragedy. We
should appeal to the people of the world
not to forget what happened in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, to visit those places andwitness the tragedy, and to realize thatthe responsibility and power of notrepeating this madness rests upon eachof us.

#13004 (Hiroshima, F, 14)
The disastrous experience I had thatday is beyond my power of expression.
For the 60 years and more since then, I
have never spent a day blessed with good
health. We, who suffer like this from the
explosion, have appealed to the world “No
more Hiroshima, no more Nagasaki.” We
do not want retaliation. Peace does notcome out of hatred and vengeance.
The atomic explosion erased our cityin an instant, as it snuffed out human
lives along with it. Those few people who
survived still suffer from radioactivity.
The effects of it will not cease to harm

6

2. Being a Hibakusha, what would you want to say to the U.S. Government
and/or to the Japanese Government? What would you ask them to do for
the NPT Reconsideration Conference?
A. To the Japanese Government:#08006 (Nagasaki, F, 4)

suffered nuclear devastation, it is our

Because you have not taken yourresponsibility of being a nation that was
the only victim of atomic bombing, such a
nuclear proliferation has happened as
now seen all over the world. Since theU. S. Government now touches on theissue of nuclear disarmament, Japan
should exercise leadership in the
movement.
If the world goes on

government’ s responsibility to announce
the danger, the fear, and the cruelty of
nuclear weaponry correctly to the rest of
the world.
2. Without depending on the U. S.
nuclear umbrella, without fearing thefact that our neighbour, China, now has
nuclear weapons, our government should
give warning to the world that it isnuclear weaponry that can extinguish thehuman race from the earth.
3. Both the Japanese government andthe U. S. government should disclose thesealed A-bomb documents to create, andcontribute to world peace.

competing for such proliferation of
nuclear armament, it deprives us of ourown future. Let the world bear this fact inmind. We should word toward a nuclearfree world.

#34037 (Hiroshima, Man 15)
I would like the Japanese government
to invite and request prime ministers andpresidents of the nuclear powers toHiroshima, having them visit the Atomic
Bomb Museum as well as listening for the#13227 (Hiroshima, M, 12)
1. The Japanese government is the
only government that can act to eliminate
nuclear weapons by making the worldaware of the reality of A-bomb sufferings.

voices of Hibakusha directly.

To do this is also the government’ s
responsibility.
2. The only way for Japan to survive isto get out from under the U. S. nuclear
umbrellaandtopromotethequintessence of Article 9 of ourConstitution.

#40059 (Nagasaki, F, 18)
As the only nation having ever
suffered nuclear devastation, and still not
being free from Hibakusha’s sufferings, I
want our government to firmly ask
nuclear powers to abandon nuclear
weapons as soon as possible.
Especially, I want our government toinvite the leaders of the nuclear powers toHiroshima and Nagasaki because I believe
it should be the shortest way to theaccomplishment of this aim.

#13004 (Hiroshima, F, 14)
For the past ten years and more, I
have been travelling abroad by myself to
advocate the importance of a non-nuclear
world.
The year our Self- Defense Force wassent to Iraq, I was asked by some
European people, “ Is Japan truly an
independent Asian nation?
Our#42031 (Nagasaki, M, 2)
1. As the only nation to have ever7

understanding is that Japan is just one of#13011 (Nagasaki, M, 13)
The Japanese Government likes to say

the stars on the American flag.” I was so
ashamed of my own country. Do you
really believe that our country is secure

the hackneyed expression, “ Japan is the
only country that has ever suffered
nuclear devastation. ” How can the same
government refuse to pay compensation
to their own A-bomb victims and settlingunder the U. S. nuclear umbrella? It is
political fraud! The nuclear umbrella isthe same umbrella of the atomic- bombsthat were dropped those two days. The
Japanese government should bear firmly
in mind that nobody can live under suchas long as we are under the U.S. nuclear
umbrella?
I want you to show us the future
vision of our country. There is no need to
be one of the super-powers, and there isno need for military forces. The only way
for us to receive respect from the rest of
the world is to contribute to world peaceon the basis of our pacifist constitution.
This came out of my personal experiencesof having travelled around countless cities
on foot and having met citizens over there.

an “inhumane umbrella.”#13055 (Nagasaki, F, 12)
I want to say to my government tokeep both Article 9 of our Constitution
and the three antinuclear principles. The
ballistic-missiles plan only makes tensions
higher in our neighbouring countries.
You should be more humble and listen#13156 (Hiroshima, F, 3)
I am furious because you think it isright to be under the U. S. nuclear
umbrella. Have you forgotten that Japanis the only nation that was the victim of
nuclear bombings? I ask you to take apositivestandtowardnucleardisarmament in a resolute manner.

carefully to your citizens’ voices.

#26002 (Nagasaki, F, 13)
In the Constitution of Japan, Article 9,which declares abolishing war, was bornout of the heinous war when many
Japanese as well as innumerable peoplein our neighbouring countries lost theirlives, killed like insects. Confessing andrepenting for what we did during the war,
our constitution forever renounces war. I
ask our government to abide by our
Constitution, to act to stop waging war or
having nuclear weapons, and to send out
a message of peace.
I would dare to ask our government to#10006 (Nagasaki, M, 16)
I feel empty whenever I hear someJapanese senior officials saying Japan isthe only state that has experienced anuclear bombing. It is a degrading
attitude that we have settled for under
the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

#13031 (Hiroshima, M, 8)
Our history tells us that we shouldplay the leading role in the world byshowing how it is like to be nuclear-freeHowever, the reality is that we beg theU. S. Government to protect us bystaying under their nuclear umbrella,
and to retaliate with their nuclear
weapons if we are attacked. I feel soashamed of this attitude. I want you tostop this behaviour immediately.

get out from under the ‘nuclear umbrella,’
and proclaim nuclear disarmament loudly.

#42072 (Nagasaki, M, 4)
I do not think that the statute oflimitations applies to war crimes. The
Japanese government should regret their

8past invasion, apologize to war victims,
compensate for cart-off and forced labour.
We should come away from the U. S.
nuclear umbrella, taking a leading rolebombs. I strongly believe that the best
way to prevent us from engaging in war
again is to follow Article 9 of ourConstitution. In this sense, I really want totoward the realization of disarmament inNorth-East Asia. I want our government toabrogate the Japan- US Security Treaty
and replace it with a true friendshiptreaty.

have this article preserved forever.
Furthermore,
I would like ourgovernment to take a leading role inspreading the essence of it all over theworld.

#40039 (Hiroshima, M, 2)#42047 (Nagasaki, M, 16)

By revising the present policy ofleaving the Hibakusha helpless,theJapanese government should take newmeasures that will be more constructive,
including state indemnification toward us.

My concern is that although President
Obama now takes his assertive stance tobe a leader of creating world peace, theJapanese government seems to be
reluctant in taking the main role in the
movement as the only nation that

#43003 (Nagasaki, F, 8)

experienced nuclear devastation. Please
do not forget that we are the nation thatshould take the leading role.
I am now over 80. I may not live long.
My hope is to see with my own eyes theworld taking the reverse direction toward
nuclear disarmament. Right now, thetrend seems to be the contrary. I want toknow how our government views thepresent situation.

Seven members of my family died.
Beside the still- living survivors of the Abomb, no compensation has ever given to
those who are dead. They were just killed
for nothing. The Japanese government
should do something for them.

#45003 (Nagasaki, M, 13)
Because the decision to take part in
the war was made by our government, it
is its responsibility to provide national
redress to the Hibakusha.

#35021 (Hiroshima, M, 13)
I am so worried as the younger
representatives of our nation seem toallow the involvement in war.
I do hope that the Japanese
government seriously step forth and asks
the nuclear powers to abandon their
nuclear weapons.

#11034 (Hiroshima, F, 9)
It stands reasonable that you areresponsible for compensating for
Hibakusha’ s sufferings in order not tocreate Hibakusha and our torture again
in the future.
Article 9 of our Constitution was
created to take a new step to keep us
from repeating such a tragedy as thisagain. No matter what happens, weshould preserve Article 9 as it is now.

#20003 (Hiroshima, M, 24)
The Japanese government, along with
the U.S. government, has always objected
to or refrained from supporting proposals
by other nations for nuclear disarmament,such as abolishing nuclear bases, andnuclear testing.
The Japanese government has been

#41002 (Hiroshima, F, 27)
Because we were actively involved in
the war, we were the targets of the A-

using the cliche, “we are the only nation

9

that has ever suffered from nuclear

together, I strongly believe that we canlead the rest of the world to achieve theabolishment of nuclear weapons and war.

devastation” when this seems to give us
advantages. Then why did you not take aleading role toward it? Why not act as anation of A-bomb victims toward the pathto nuclear disarmament?
The NPT Reconsideration Conferencein 2010 should be a milestone in the
movement,and I would like ourgovernment to contribute to its successby standing on our unique experience,
hence to get recognition by people within
and outside of Japan.

#17010 (Nagasaki, M, 9)
Being the only country that was a
victim of A- bombs, I would like ourgovernment to take a leading role in the
movement of nuclear disarmament incooperation with the U. S. , which is the
only country that has actually used such
weapons.
If our government is sincerely awareof its responsibility and regrets what it
did during the war, many nations will bewilling to support our government’ s
decision to achieve world nuclear
disarmament.
As a government of the country thatmaintains Article 9 in the Constitution,
we should expect it to steer its diplomatic
activities toward this aim.

#11006 (Hiroshima, F, 0)
Dropping a single A-bomb burned andkilled over 100,000 citizens on the spot,
and even those who survived the firstshock are still suffering from the aftereffects of radiation, such as cancers. Even
within Japan,
many people do notunderstand how horrible the A- bomb
truly is. I want you to tell them what itreally is like.
If the two countries, the U. S. which
dropped the A-bombs, and Japan, which
was the target of them, go hand-in-hand10

2. Being a Hibakusha, what would you want to say to the U.S. Government
and the Japanese Government? What would you ask them to do for the
NPT Reconsideration Conference?
B. To the U.S. Government#08006 (Nagasaki, F, 4)#43013 (Nagasaki, M, 8)

The U.S. is now exposed to the hazardof devastation threatened by nuclear
weapons ( it is within the realm of
possibility that some terrorist group may
actually use one) . Whatever the reason
might be, we cannot allow anyone todestroy the beautiful earth and make it aplace where nobody can live any longer.
I want you to apologize for the A-

Give me back my parents. Give meback my family.

bombings to the people of the world, andto take the leading role toward nuclear
disarmament.

many Hibakusha tortured right after the
A-bombing. I wonder who could use suchan atrocious weapon to kill people, who
could not even die immediately as
humans. I wonder how this could possibly
be done by other human beings.

#13041 (Nagasaki, F, 6)Your country never hesitates to callitself a power of justice, and you sent
soldiers to many overseas countries. I
wonder whether you really are a knight inshining armor as you say. I remember#40007 (Nagasaki, F, 23)
I have never received an apology inmy whole life from you. I really want tohear from you, “ We are so sorry. ” Even
now, in the summer time, I am terrified
and cannot go outside. I still hear thehuge sound of bombardment and a lot ofchildren crying.

#13006 (Nagasaki, F, 15)
President Obama finally admitted
that “(we are) the only nuclear power thatused a nuclear weapon,” at last, after all
those 64 years of disregarding of it.
I really want President Obama tocome to Hiroshima and Nagasaki toapologize. I want him to let the Japanese
government take its part in realising
nuclear disarmament by making it part ofyour agenda. I would like to see thismeasure taken.

#30007 (Hiroshima, M, 18)Have you ever apologized for what you
have done to us? How would you react if
you had been the victims of the Abombings? I want the American citizens
to fully realise the cruelty of the Abombings.

#13227 (Hiroshima, M, 12)1.
I want you to apologize to
Hibakusha by admitting the fact thatdropping A- bombs was againstinternational law.
2. The first user of the A-bomb must
be the first abolisher.
3. You also have the responsibility of
disclosing the data of the A-bombing, and#43035 (Hiroshima, M, 21)
Since you are the only nuclear nationthat has used nuclear weapons, you cantake leadership toward nuclear disuseand disarmament. I would like to hear
your apology to us, the Hibakusha, and to
those who have already passed away.

11

of what it brought upon humans and theenvironment.

#40060 (Nagasaki, M, 17)
I recognize that President Obama
turned his direction towards nuclear
disarmament. We all know that it is, inany sense, not an easy way to accomplish#14002 (Hiroshima, F, 16)
I would like you, the U.S. government
and especially the citizens of the U.S., tounderstand the tortures suffered by
Hibakusha.

the aim. I hope that President Obama’ s
decision will not change in the future.
That is what I want the most from thepeople of the U.S..

#11041 (Hiroshima, M, 3)
I went to the U.S. in August last year,
where I heard that in your country, school
education takes the stand of insisting therighteousness of the A- bombings ofHiroshima and Nagasaki. I am afraid thisis because you do not know how horrible
it is to be a Hibakusha. I want you to face
the facts of A-bombing and to realise that
it is incompatible with human beings. It#17010 (Nagasaki, M, 9)
As a nation that created and used Abombs,
the U. S.
government incooperation
withtheJapanesegovernment, the only nation to have ever
suffered a nuclear devastation, shouldtakeleadershiptowards
nucleardisarmament, which seems to be the only
way to compensate for the moral
responsibility to your past deeds.
Now is the time for us humans to takea different direction in nuclear measures.
I am so grateful to know thatPresident Obama made a historicalspeech on April 5th, in Prague, Czech
Republic, by showing some concrete
directions toward nuclear arm reduction.
As a Hibakusha, I have received great
energy and hope from his speech.

could be called the devil’s weapon.
To establish a “ nuclear free world, ”
the first step you can take is to meet a
Hibakusha to feel the reality of being one.

#13028 (Hiroshima, F, 20)
I would like to ask you, the U. S.
government,
to eliminate nuclear
weapons and create real world peace. I
want to protect Japanese children withlove, aiming for peace in Japan, tellingthem that there should never be an A-

But I am worried by his words, “Thisgoal will not be reached quickly, perhaps
not in my lifetime, ” because he is muchyounger than us, the Hibakusha.
Still, I would like to send my gratitude
to him as he, in any case, has shown us
his decision toward the realization of
nuclear disarmament.
This is the issue of burning concern.
And as words alone are not enough, theymust be followed by steady action.

bombing again in the world for children’s
happiness on earth.
Being bed-ridden, I can only pray for
nuclear disarmament and world peace.

#13122 (Hiroshima, M, 18)
We, the Hibakusha, do not seek
vengeance on the U. S. for the atomic
bombings on Japan. The retribution that
we do seek, however, is its assistance inridding the world of nuclear weapons,
and we have been working long and hard
to realize this goal. I found President
Obama's speech to be very moving.

#43024 (Nagasaki, M, 15)
I want you to realise President Obama’swish, and to take the leading role toward
a nuclear-free world. The first step for it
is for you yourself to abolish your nuclear

12

weapons. As long as you have your own,
no nuclear powers will listen to yourwords seriously.

#12007 (Hiroshima, M, 12)
We should bear in mind the logic ofyour justifying the A-bombing on us, that
it was to end the war more quickly,
invites others to use this excuse in using
the same weapon again in future.

#40056 (Nagasaki, M, 14)
I want you to admit the fact that you
are most responsible for the present
nuclear proliferation, and so, please takethe leading role to realise a world ofpeace, free from nuclear weapons.

#42012 (Nagasaki, M, 8)
We risk our life in war. We risk ourlife even m ore to protect the call ofpeace. Why not help your president who
delivered the Prague Speech to start theaction? The immediate ratification of
CTBT is what is most needed now. (Japan
should take the leading role to attain this).

#41002 (Hiroshima, F, 27)
Your sin in dropping A-bombs to killhundreds of thousands of citizens will
never be forgotten. Your job, therefore, is
now to take the leading role and to
declare nuclear disarmam ent to the#42059 (Nagasaki, M, 6)
I would like you to take the lead
toward nuclear disarmament. This is theway you can show your remorse andapology to us, the Hibakusha. Also, thiswill create a strong persuasive power ofletting go of nuclear weapons by the
nuclear nations.

world. I trust President Obama’s words. I
really want him to make this happen.

#13012 (Hiroshima, M, 16)
I appreciate that President Obamadeclared in his speech, “as a nuclear power,
as the only nuclear power that has used anuclear weapon, the U. S. has a moral
responsibility to act. ” I would be more
grateful if he moves forward to start worldwide nuclear disarmament immediately.
Admitting that nuclear weapons are
absolute evil, the U.S. government should
eliminate the nuclear weapons deployed inJapan and its adjacent waters.

#45022 (Nagasaki, M, 17)
You are under heavy responsibility
because you are the only nation that has
actually used nuclear bombs. With Japan,
whose citizens were the targets of your Abombs, you should take the leading roleby disclosing the reality of the suffering
caused by the A- bombings, in order toaccomplish nuclear disarmament.

#13156 (Hiroshima, F, 3)Your country possesses many nuclear
weapons, atomic & hydrogen bombs,
more than any other country in the world.
It should be impossible to accomplish
nuclear disarmament unless you take astand of abolishing them. You have also
sent your army to and have bases in quite
a few foreign countries, which suggestthat you are always on the front lines. My
opinion is that the first step toward world
peace is to pull those forces back to theUS.

13

3. As Hibakusha, what are your expectations of the United Nations?

should work toward world peace byinsisting to nuclear weapon states, North
Korea, Iran and so on, that nuclear
weapon development is foolish and only
brings misery to the world.
The U. N. should consider how tomake it possible for all states to sit at thesame negotiation table.

#11031 (Hiroshima, F, 24)
It has been 64 years since then. Howlong must Hibakusha go on telling about
the anti- humanity of nuclear weapons?
We have no time left. The best task that
the U. N. can perform now is to abolishnuclear weapons all over the world.

#04002 (Hiroshima, M, 13)
Using nuclear weapons cannot makeworld peace. It is undoubtedly againstinternational law. All human beings
desire the abolition of nuclear weapons.

#13004 (Hiroshima, F, 14)We,
the Hibakusha,
personallyexperienced that human beings cannot
coexist with nuclear weapons. Though some
63 years have passed since then,radiation of the A- bomb still ruins ourhealth, and we are anxious about ourchildren’s and grandchildren’s health. We
are suffering from trauma.
Both the governments of Japan andUnited States have concealed the realconditions of A- bomb damage. Now thethreat of nuclear weapons is spreading
across the world, I strongly request that
the U. N. disclose and announce the realstate of A-bomb damage.

#13059 (Nagasaki, F, 24)
I would like to see every country set
its own interests aside and be able toabolish nuclear weapons. A-bombs cruelly
destroy human beings and everythingelse. If not abolished, they will bring theworld into a horrible state of hell.
It is enough that those who sufferedfrom the A-bombs are only our generation.
At all costs, the U.N. should do everything
in its power to abolish nuclear weapons
and to allow us all to live in a world ofpeace and prosperity through dialogue.

#08006 (Nagasaki, F, 4)
For the abolition of nuclear weapons,
the U. N. should take concrete action,suchassending
Hibakusha
as#04001 (Hiroshima, M, 21)
As long as there are nuclear weapon
states, there is the spread of nuclear
weapons. The U.N. should keep appealing
to nuclear weapon states to abolishnuclear weapons. There is no security
where nuclear weapons are.
If an
accident happens some day, it would
mean the destruction of all human beingson earth.

“ ambassadors of peace” to every country
in the world. We, the Hibakusha, from theonly country which has suffered from Abombs, know the horrors of them.

#13227 (Hiroshima, M, 12)1.
To establish a permanent
exhibition of the real situation of nuclear
weapon damage at the U.N. Headquarters
2. To require every ambassador to the
U.N. to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

#41004 (Nagasaki, F, 0)
As a real leader of the world, the U.N.

14

philosophy of the U. N. that all five
permanent members of the Security
Council of the U. N. are nuclear weapon
states and also arms exporting states. All#17012 (Hiroshima, F, 1)
The U.N. should take a leading role toinform the world about the reality of theeffects of A- bombs. There are various
means, such as establishing a permanent
exhibition of A- bombs at U. N.
Headquarters, collecting testimonies ofsuffering from A- bombs, founding U. N.
peace schools in every country and so on.

non-nuclear weapon states should unite inabolition of nuclear weapons.
The U. N. should display Article 9 of
the Japanese Constitution at its
Headquarters and make it the guiding
words of the 21st century.

#13012 (Hiroshima, M, 16)
I wish that the U. N. would invite as
many Hibakusha as possible to speak
there so that it can understand thesuffering from A-bombs. The U.N. should
send delegates of all countries to
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let them visit#15001 (Hiroshima, M, 26)
To sweep away nuclear weapons fromthe earth, we must not allow any state topossess them. It is not reasonable that nostates are allowed to hold nuclear
weapons except for five. If all nuclear

Hibakusha,
and make extensive
investigations through interviews. If so, a
U. N. disarmament conference would beheld as soon as possible to realise a treaty
on the abolition of nuclear weapons.

states abolish their nuclear weapons first,
then the other states will follow them. If
we allow nuclear weapons to spread, theearth might be destroyed. The U. N.
should have a strict monitoring role. If
there is a violation, all of the world should
impose sanctions on the violator.

#14021 (Nagasaki, M, 16)
The permanent members of the
Security Council of the U.N. are all Alliesof World War II, and all of them arenuclear weapon states. If all of themembers of the Security Council were#47001 (Nagasaki, M, 17)
It is insane that NPT admits that thefive victorious states ( U. S. , Russia, UK,
France, and China) can hold nuclear
weapons. NPT is an unequal treaty. I
would like to see the Review Conferences
also devoid of this kind of inequality.

elected from among the members of all
U.N. states with set terms, the voices ofmany non-nuclear weapon states could beheard and make these words a global
slogan: “Nuclear disarmament, Abolitionof nuclear weapons, Non-proliferation of#13127 (Hiroshima, M, 16)

It is unreasonable that just the fivegreat powers of the world are allowed tohold nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons
should be abolished from all over theworld.

Every state should appreciate thatinternational politics should be done forall human beings, not just for theinterests of its own state; otherwise thedestruction of human beings will result. I
hope to see leadership from the U.N.
The 2005 Review Conference of theParties to the NPT should succeed at all
costs.

#42012 (Nagasaki, M, 8)#45022 (Nagasaki, M, 17)

nuclear weapons”.

#42034 (Nagasaki, F, 17)Itisexcessively

againsttheConferences related to NPT ( Treaty

15

on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons) should be held in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, and the U. N. must
appreciate the actual conditions ofdamage of A- bombs, then tackle theabolition of nuclear weapons.

#01010 (Hiroshima, M, 2)
I strongly request that the General
Assembly Resolution in 2000 : “ Theengagement, as soon as appropriate, of
all nuclear- weapon States in the process
leading to the total elimination of their
nuclear weapons” be practiced.

#13031 (Hiroshima, M, 8)
Chemical weapons used in WorldWar I are prohibited by internationallaws and treaty. Nuclear weapons are
not yet forbidden though they are
incom parably dangerous with chem ical
weapons. The U. N. should manage tosolve this problem .

#04005 (Hiroshima, M, 19)
I hope that a treaty which prohibits
using nuclear weapons will be proposedby the U.N. and every state will concludeit.

#13140 (Nagasaki, F, NA)
The number of nuclear weapon states
has increased. The U. N. should declarethat nuclear weapons must be abolishedfrom the world.

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NIHON HIDANKYO( Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations )Gable Bldg. #902, 1-3-5 Shiba-Daimon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0012 JAPANTELF AX
E-MailWeb site+81 3 3438 1897
+81 3 3431 2113
kj3t-tnk@ asahi-net.or.jp
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October 2009