April 26, 2015

A-bomb survivor on what may be his last quest to seek nuke weapons ban

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201504260018

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

NAGASAKI--Despite his frail condition, 86-year-old atomic bomb survivor Sumiteru Taniguchi is making what is likely his final trip to New York to appeal to the United Nations for a world free of nuclear weapons.

“I would like to continue taking part in anti-nuclear campaigns by calling on the spirits of hibakusha who have passed away without seeing a nuclear-free world,” said Taniguchi, who was in Nagasaki when the city was leveled by atomic bombing on Aug. 9, 1945.

Taniguchi was speaking at an April 18 ceremony to send off a Nagasaki citizens delegation to the United States to coincide with the start of ninth U.N. Nonproliferation Treaty review conference.

Taking place every five years to review efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, the conference will be held at the U.N. headquarters between April 27 and May 22.

At the last conference in 2010, Taniguchi, chairman of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, delivered a compelling speech that asserted the world needs “no more hibakusha after me.”

During his trip to the United States this time, Taniguchi has been invited to speak about his experience as an A-bomb survivor and make his “no more hibakusha” appeal at a symposium sponsored by nongovernmental organizations on April 25.

With 2015 marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II, the average age of the hibakusha reached 79.44 at the end of March last year.

Taniguchi has recently battled with pneumonia and symptoms of aging. He currently weighs only 41 kilograms, and his fellow activists are concerned about his ability to endure the long flight to the United States this month.

On Aug. 9, 1945, Taniguchi, then 16, was working as a letter carrier about 1.8 kilometers from ground zero when the atomic bomb detonated. He suffered extensive burns on his back, which left him bedridden for 21 months.

His back has extensive keloids and operational scars.

Since the last NPT conference, Taniguchi has seen his fellow A-bomb survivors die one after another, including Senji Yamaguchi and Hisako Akesaka, leaders of anti-nuclear movements in Nagasaki.

“Yamaguchi and Akesaka must be lamenting in heaven over the current international circumstances (that have allowed the omnipresence of nuclear weapons),” Taniguchi said.

SUCCEEDING SPIRITS

Although atomic bomb survivors are rapidly advancing in age, the postwar generation residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are eager to pass on the experiences of their parents’ generation.

Michiko Yamaoka, a 64-year-old resident of Hiroshima, is a member of the delegation that Gensuikyo (Japan Council Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs) is sending to the United States at the time of the U.N. conference.

Yamaoka's 90-year-old mother, Kiyoko Ueda, survived the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Ueda's family residence was about 3.5 km from ground zero. Her sister, 13, died that day.

Growing up hearing horrendous stories from her mother, Yamaoka was inspired to become a volunteer English guide for foreign visitors to Hiroshima when she turned 57.

Acquiring English skills through self-education, she has worked as a guide to explain the experiences of her mother to as many as 10,000 foreign visitors from 90 countries.

During her U.S. visit, Yamaoka will participate in a signature-collecting drive on city streets and in anti-nuclear rallies.

If she is asked about the feelings of the hibakusha toward the United States, Yamaoka said she will convey a message from her mother: “Hibakusha only hate warfare, not the United States. Peace will not arise from hatred.”