SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
As Japan marks 75 years since the devastating attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the last generation of nuclear bomb survivors are working to ensure their message lives on after them. Terumi Tanaka, 88, was 13 when the bomb hit his hometown of Nagasaki. (Photo: Behrouz/Mehri/AFP via Getty Images)
After 75 Years, Last Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings Says Nuclear Abolition Still 'Starting Point for Peace'
"Hell is probably like what we went through. It must never be allowed to happen again."
Aug 05, 2020
Jiro Hamasumi's mother was pregnant with him when the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killing tens of thousands instantly.
Today, at 74, Hamasumi is one of the remaining survivors of the attack pleading with world leaders to abolish nuclear arms.
"Hibakusha want the United States to apologize to us," Hamasumi told Agence France-Press this week. "But the proof of the apology is nuclear abolition, we're not after vengeance."
AFP estimates there are about 136,700 living survivors of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended the second World War in 1945.
For decades anti-nuclear activists have pointed to the destruction, devastation, and deadly consequences of the attacks as reason to rid the world of nuclear weapons. World leaders have continued to develop the technology, however, in spite of those pleas.
"A nuclear weapons ban is the starting point for peace."
--Lee Jong-keun, 92, Hiroshima survivor
"We must work harder to get our voices heard, not just mine but those of many other survivors," Lee Jong-keun, a 92-year-old hibakusha, who after decades of hiding his past as a Hiroshima survivor has, since 2012, joined others in telling his story and appealing for abolition of nuclear arms, said in an interview with the Associated Press this week. "A nuclear weapons ban is the starting point for peace."
In 2019, Pope Francis, speaking at Hiroshima Peace Park, a memorial to the events located in Japan, called nuclear weapons "a crime not only against the dignity of human beings but against any possible future for our common home."
"How," the pope asked, "can we speak of peace even as we build terrifying new weapons of war?"
President Donald Trump has instead forged ahead with plans for nuclear testing, even as Democratic lawmakers push for legislation that would prevent the Trump administration from restarting nuclear weapons testing.
But remaining survivors, whose numbers dwindle as they age, and activists continue their fight for a world free of nuclear weapons.
"I haven't been to Hell," Hiroshima survivor Teruko Ueno told BBC. "So I don't know what it's like, but Hell is probably like what we went through. It must never be allowed to happen again."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jiro Hamasumi's mother was pregnant with him when the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killing tens of thousands instantly.
Today, at 74, Hamasumi is one of the remaining survivors of the attack pleading with world leaders to abolish nuclear arms.
"Hibakusha want the United States to apologize to us," Hamasumi told Agence France-Press this week. "But the proof of the apology is nuclear abolition, we're not after vengeance."
AFP estimates there are about 136,700 living survivors of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended the second World War in 1945.
For decades anti-nuclear activists have pointed to the destruction, devastation, and deadly consequences of the attacks as reason to rid the world of nuclear weapons. World leaders have continued to develop the technology, however, in spite of those pleas.
"A nuclear weapons ban is the starting point for peace."
--Lee Jong-keun, 92, Hiroshima survivor
"We must work harder to get our voices heard, not just mine but those of many other survivors," Lee Jong-keun, a 92-year-old hibakusha, who after decades of hiding his past as a Hiroshima survivor has, since 2012, joined others in telling his story and appealing for abolition of nuclear arms, said in an interview with the Associated Press this week. "A nuclear weapons ban is the starting point for peace."
In 2019, Pope Francis, speaking at Hiroshima Peace Park, a memorial to the events located in Japan, called nuclear weapons "a crime not only against the dignity of human beings but against any possible future for our common home."
"How," the pope asked, "can we speak of peace even as we build terrifying new weapons of war?"
President Donald Trump has instead forged ahead with plans for nuclear testing, even as Democratic lawmakers push for legislation that would prevent the Trump administration from restarting nuclear weapons testing.
But remaining survivors, whose numbers dwindle as they age, and activists continue their fight for a world free of nuclear weapons.
"I haven't been to Hell," Hiroshima survivor Teruko Ueno told BBC. "So I don't know what it's like, but Hell is probably like what we went through. It must never be allowed to happen again."
Jiro Hamasumi's mother was pregnant with him when the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killing tens of thousands instantly.
Today, at 74, Hamasumi is one of the remaining survivors of the attack pleading with world leaders to abolish nuclear arms.
"Hibakusha want the United States to apologize to us," Hamasumi told Agence France-Press this week. "But the proof of the apology is nuclear abolition, we're not after vengeance."
AFP estimates there are about 136,700 living survivors of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended the second World War in 1945.
For decades anti-nuclear activists have pointed to the destruction, devastation, and deadly consequences of the attacks as reason to rid the world of nuclear weapons. World leaders have continued to develop the technology, however, in spite of those pleas.
"A nuclear weapons ban is the starting point for peace."
--Lee Jong-keun, 92, Hiroshima survivor
"We must work harder to get our voices heard, not just mine but those of many other survivors," Lee Jong-keun, a 92-year-old hibakusha, who after decades of hiding his past as a Hiroshima survivor has, since 2012, joined others in telling his story and appealing for abolition of nuclear arms, said in an interview with the Associated Press this week. "A nuclear weapons ban is the starting point for peace."
In 2019, Pope Francis, speaking at Hiroshima Peace Park, a memorial to the events located in Japan, called nuclear weapons "a crime not only against the dignity of human beings but against any possible future for our common home."
"How," the pope asked, "can we speak of peace even as we build terrifying new weapons of war?"
President Donald Trump has instead forged ahead with plans for nuclear testing, even as Democratic lawmakers push for legislation that would prevent the Trump administration from restarting nuclear weapons testing.
But remaining survivors, whose numbers dwindle as they age, and activists continue their fight for a world free of nuclear weapons.
"I haven't been to Hell," Hiroshima survivor Teruko Ueno told BBC. "So I don't know what it's like, but Hell is probably like what we went through. It must never be allowed to happen again."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.