Introduction to my blog

I am one of the youngest A-bomb survivors. I have been guiding at the A-bomb Dome every day almost 1８ years to tell the facts, hoping that world opinion will lead to the abolition of inhumane weapons. Please speak to me when you visit Hiroshima and find me.

My guiding motto is "Treasure every meeting, for it will never recur."

 ーMITO Kosei 　E-mail:[e-mail] 

MITO KOSEI : THE YOUNGEST HIBAKUSHA IN HIROSHIMA - THE STORY OF THE SURVIVORS

My Newest Article: A-bomb survivor receives Citizen of the Year award for guiding 300,000 visitors 
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240301/p2a/00m/0na/013000c

Version française de ce blog 

blog español

My Story

My mother’s memoirs

Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing —Photographs and films in 1945

　                            Suzuko's Testimony

She lost her leg because of the A-bomb, and she went on telling her experience until she died at the age of 87.  She inspired me to be a guide.Please read her testimony. 

Spread Seeds of Peace through the World 

Frequently Asked Questions (HARADA Kenich, MITO Kosei)

Ｑ：What was the original dome used for？

·  It was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, which opened in August 1915 to display and sell local products and to hold various exhibitions.  It was like a department store.  As the building was designed by a Czech architect, it was a unique European style building and very popular among citizens.

·  Products sold there included oysters, agricultural products, and woodworks, such as furniture (chest), kitchenware (tray) and musical instruments (koto).

·  During the war, it was used by governmental organizations.  It is said there were about 30 persons working in the building that morning, and all of them perished.

 Ｑ：Why did Japan start the war？

• Japanese expansion in East Asia began in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria. Seeking to curb Japanese aggression and force a withdrawal of Japanese forces from China and Indonesia, the United States imposed economic sanctions on Japan.  Japan was desperate for natural resources, especially for oil and metal. In 1941, US demanded the withdrawal of Japanes troops from Manchuria.

• Southeast Asia then was controlled by various western nations (U.S.: Philippines, U.K.: India/Myanmar, France: Viet Nam/Laos/Cambodia, Netherlands: Indonesia, Portugal: East Timor).  Japan said the war was to release those Asian countries from western control.  But, the truth was Japan intended to get natural resources from the area.

Ｑ：What do you think of Pearl Harbor attack？

·  I believe, without the Pearl Harbor attack, the pacific war should have begun sooner or later. Conflict between Japan and the U.S. was so intense.

·  Hiroshima and Honolulu, where the Pearl Harbor is, became sister cities in 1959 to cooperate for the world peace. It was a symbolic event of reconciliation between citizens of the two nations.
New American:
Pearl Harbor: Hawaii Was Surprised; FDR Was Not, Written by James Perloff 
"Comprehensive research has shown not only that Washington knew in advance of the attack, but that it deliberately withheld its foreknowledge from our commanders in Hawaii in the hope that the "surprise" attack would catapult the U.S. into World War II." 
Ｑ：Were Japanese people against the war？

·  People were taught and believed it was the right war for Japan to help Asian countries.  American and British were very brutal and Asian people were badly suffering.

·  Japanese government and the military authorities controlled civilians very tight.  If a person openly opposed against the war, the person was called “a traitor” and arrested.
Ｑ：Why was the atomic bomb dropped on Japan？ 
As General Dwight Eisenhower said, Japan was at that very moment seeking some way to surrender with minimum loss of face, and ‘it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing.’ So if Japan was ready to surrender, why were atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? A significant factor in the decision to bomb was the US’s desire to establish its dominance in the region after the war. Those planning for the post-war situation believed that this required US occupation of Japan, enabling it to establish a permanent military presence, shape its political and economic system and dominate the Pacific region without fear of Japanese resurgence.  
Full text https://cnduk.org/why-the-atom-bomb-was-dropped-on-japan-2/ 

 Ｑ：Was there any warnings of the A-bombing？

·  No, there were only general warnings which said, if Japan did not surrender immediately, you would get more intense air raids.

·  American military authorities had decided not to give a specific warning in advance.  Because they thought, if a specific warning was issued, Japanese forces might prepare to intercept American bombers, evacuate from the target area, or bring American POWs there.

 Ｑ：Was the use of nuclear weapons illegal？

·  There was no international law which explicitly said it was illegal to use nuclear weapons.  But, a wartime international law adopted in the 1889 Hague Peace Conference prohibits from use of weapons which inflict unnecessary agony on persons.

·  In July 1996, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) (in Hague, Netherlands) formed a judgment that the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be a violation of international law applicable to armed conflict. 

 [ At the time of bombing ]

 Ｑ：Why wasn’t the warning issued？

·  At the last stage of the Pacific war, American bombers frequently came over Japan in a big formation.  Planes flying in a small number were sometimes overlooked.

·  Japan’s bomber watch system was tricked by a tactic of the U.S. forces.  One hour before the A-bomb attack, a plane flew over Hiroshima from west to east. Analyzing radio communication of the plane, it was thought that the plane was to check weather for a bombing and bombers would follow the plane.  As bombers always had come on the same direction as a weather-scouting plane, a watch system in the area focused on west.  But, the bomber carrying the A-bomb (Enola Gay) came from east.  When the system found Enola Gay, it was too late.  The A-bomb exploded before a warning was issued.

 Ｑ：Why did they use the two different types of atomic bombs？

·  They had no confidence to develop an atomic bomb in time, so they attempted two ways.  Finally, they had succeeded in both ways.  They made one uranium bomb and two plutonium bombs.  As the mechanism of a plutonium bomb is complicated, they needed a test to see if it works.  One plutonium bomb was used for a test, and others were used to attack Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 Ｑ：Why did the U.S. military make the atomic bomb explode in the air？

·  It was intentional.  The U.S. military thought, because the bomb had immense power, violent blast would reach further when it detonated high up in the air.  The bomb exploded at 600m above the ground, and created such devastation as intended.  It’s said, if the bomb detonated on the ground, a big hole of 300m diameter and 50-150m depth would have been created.

·  The U.S. military knew radiation and heat rays would be emitted from the A-bomb as well as blast, but they didn’t know strength of their destructive power.  So, they counted only on blast to attack the city.
 

Ｑ：What’s the difference the explosive power between Hiroshima bomb and Nagasaki bomb?

·  Power of Hiroshima bomb was 16Kton (TNT equivalent), and Nagasaki bomb was 21Kton.  Nagasaki bomb was 1.3 times more powerful than Hiroshima one.

·  In Nagasaki, the bomb exploded at the point over 3km off the target.  As it was less populated area, the number of casualties was much less than in Hiroshima.

 [ after the bombing ]

 Ｑ：Did Japanese people know that the bombs were atomic bombs soon after the bombing？

·  No.  On the next day, Imperial Headquarters merely announced that Hiroshima was somewhat damaged by a new type bomb.  But they didn’t mention it was an atomic bomb until after the war.

·  Just after the war, Japan was occupied by the allied powers.  Occupation forces were afraid that, if devastating damages caused by the A-bomb became widely known in Japan, people might have ill feeling against American.  It might disturb their occupation operations and drive Japan to Soviet Union group.  So, they imposed a press code which prohibited reporting about the A-bombing.

 Ｑ：How long did the press code last？

·  It was in effect until the peace treaty between Japan and the U.S. became effective in Apr., 1952.

·  During May 1946 and Nov. 1948, Tokyo military court was held by the allied powers.  Over 20 Japanese leaders were found guilty of causing the war.  And, it was considered Americans were not to be blamed for the result of the war.  In that situation, application of the press code was getting eased.

 Ｑ：What kind of symptoms did the victims develop？

·  Symptoms of acute disorder include high fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting blood, exhaustion, hair loss and so on.

·  People including doctors didn’t know about radiation disease, so patients were diagnosed as dysentery and isolated in closed areas.

 Ｑ：How long did residual radiation stay？

·  Residual radiation did not stay long in Hiroshima, unlike other radiation contaminated areas such as Marshall Islands, Chernobyl and Gulf War area.  It became negligible within 2 weeks or a month.

·  The Japanese Government certifies a person as an A-bomb survivor, in case the person entered an area within 2km of the hypocenter in two weeks after the explosion.  It means residual radiation became negligible after 2 weeks from the bombing.

·  Residual radiation includes induced radiation and radioactive fallout.  Induced radiation which was created in soil and buildings by collision of neutrons became negligible in 100 hours.  Radioactivity of fallout was very weak, but when it entered human body through mouth or nose, it would give serious damages.

Ｑ：Can you detect radiation now？

·  Yes, though it’s in a very special case.  Several years ago, a scientist detected radiation from marks of black rain, which is exhibited in the radiation corner of this museum.  He had to use advanced equipment of super high precision, because radiation level is very low.  It’s impossible to detect the A-bomb’s residual radiation in ordinary circumstance. 

 Ｑ：Why didn’t residual radiation stayed long in Hiroshima？

·  There are three major reasons.  Radiation emitted from the Hiroshima A-bomb was much less, comparing H-bomb tests or the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident. Secondly, the bomb exploded high up in the sky, and heated air went up to create a huge mushroom cloud.  Radioactive dust spread over the cloud, and density of radioactive fallout became very light.  Thirdly, a big typhoon(#) attacked Hiroshima a month later, and washed radioactive materials away.

 (#) The Makurazaki Typhoon which attacked Japan on Sept. 17-18.  Hiroshima heavily suffered.  Over 3,700 persons were killed or missing.  It was one of the three biggest typhoons in the Showa era with Muroto (1934.9) and Isewan (1959.9) Typhoons.

 Ｑ：Did the survivors get enough support？

·  No.  Because of the press code, which had been enforced by the allied forces and was effective until 1952, tragic suffering in Hiroshima was not officially discussed in Japan and survivors didn’t get special support for long.

·  A law for medical support was enacted in 1957, and a law for living benefit in 1968.  It was over two decades after the bombing.

 Ｑ：Did the U.S. compensate for the war damage？

·  The U.S. didn’t compensate for the war damage at all, including A-bomb damages. According to the judgment of Tokyo Court, it was considered Japan’s leaders were fully responsible for causing the devastating damage.

·  The U.S. helped a lot Japan for its reconstruction.  They thought, as Japan was desperate for aid for restoration, if the U.S. didn’t give hands, Japan might go to the Soviet Union for help.
Ｑ：What was the life at wartime POW camps ？

The Japanese military captured about 160,000 military personnel of the Allied nations in Asia and the South Pacific during the war and transported more than 35,000 prisoners to Japan to fill labor shortages.

Nationalities included Britain, the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Foreign nationals who were living in Japan were also interned as enemy aliens, and there were 52 camps for such individuals, including those that existed for a short period.

When it was closed, there were 44 male internees: 22 Britons, 13 Canadians, six Americans and three Greeks.

The diet for internees worsened from around 1944 and the daily meal consisted of only a bowl of rice and watery soup.

Even if they became sick, internees were unable to see a doctor. Five internees, or 10 percent of the total, died from illnesses and other causes.

It has been confirmed that there were about 1,800 foreign nationals of more than 30 nationalities when the war ended.

 Ｑ：What happened to Japanese leaders after the war？

·  In the Tokyo Court held after the war, over 20 Japanese leaders were found guilty of a “crime against peace” or a “crime against humanity”, and sentenced to death or to life.  In total, 5,700 Japanese were brought into military courts, and 1,000 of them were killed.

·  The U.S. allowed the Emperor stay in the position as a symbol of Japan, for the people of Japan were desperate to keep the Emperor.

 Ｑ：Did Japan compensate the countries？

·  Japan formally compensated 4 countries (Philippines, South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos).  Many other countries gave up their claim rights.  In return, Japan offered free fund supplies to most of those countries.  The compensations had been officially settled by 1977 to all suffered countries except North Korea.

·  Japan’s compensations were not paid to individuals, but they were used for social infrastructures, such as building dams and ironworks.

 [ today]

 Ｑ：Is there any radiation effect on second generation？

·  An official statement from the Japanese government says there is no radiation effect on the second generation.

·  By the request of the second generation, a large scale study has just started.  It may take some time to conclude the study.

 Ｑ：Do the survivors hate Americans？

·  That may depend on individuals.  I believe most survivors don’t have grudges against the U.S. no more.  They think it was a war and a nuclear weapon that caused such suffering, and wish to hand over a world free of war and nuclear weapon to their descendant.  They think grudges create only a chain of retaliations.
  According to a research done by NHK in 2015, only 23 % of the survivors have grudge against  the U.S. , but they seldom express their feelings. 

·  Survivors are now strongly blaming the U.S. for they are not aggressive to give up nuclear weapons.  That is their obligation agreed upon in the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty).  The U.S. is still conducting nuclear tests and developing a new type of nuclear weapons.

 Ｑ：Do Japan have nuclear weapons？

·  No.  Japan has the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which are no production, no possession and no introduction of nuclear weapons.

·  According to the Japan-U.S. Mutual Security Treaty, the U.S. must consult the Japanese government before bringing any nuclear weapons into Japan.  Japanese government says U.S. battleships visiting Japan’s port are not equipped with nuclear weapons because they don’t tell they have ones.

 Ｑ：Do you think that a nuclear deterrent works?

·  No. As nuclear technology is advancing, nuclear weapons will become smaller and handier.  When terrorist groups get those weapons, a nuclear deterrent won’t work.
THE MYTH OF NUCLEAR DETERRENCE
 
 Ｑ：Did any American presidents visit the museum？

·  On May 27, 2016, Barack Obama  became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he called for a "world without nuclear weapons" during his remarks at the city's Peace Memorial Park.
Critical views of President Obama’s speech in Hiroshima
Transcript of President Obama’s speech
· In May 1984, Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the U.S.   visited Hiroshima after leaving of office.

   (by Ken'ichi Harada, volunteer guide of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum)

 

Ｑ: Were any Americans killed by the A-bomb?
 
Yes, 12 POWs were killed. Here is a sruvivor's testimony.
DATE WITH THE ‘LONESOME LADY’ A Hiroshima POW Returns by Lt. Tom C. Cartwright 

 Ｑ:What percent of the U.S. population justify the A-bombing?
80 years later, Americans have mixed views on whether use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Nagasaki was justified.(Pew Reserch Center) JULY 28, 2025

Ｑ:What made Japan decide to surrender?

 Before the bomb was used, U.S. intelligence officials believed the war would likely end when two things happened: When the Soviet army attacked Japan and when the U.S. let Japan know their Emperor could stay on as a figurehead.

 The Soviet Union officially declares war on Japan as agreed in Yalta Conference, on August 9, pouring more than 1 million Soviet soldiers into Japanese-occupied Manchuria, northeastern China, northern Korea, Karafuto, and the Chishima Islands. The rapid defeat of Japan's Kwantung Army helped in the Japanese surrender.

The U.S. told Japan the Emperor could remain on August 12. "The ultimate form of government of Japan shall, in accordance with the Potsdam Declaration, be established by the freely expressed will of the Japanese people.”

Japan surrendered on August 14.

Ｑ:How many people die?

The A-bomb devastated nearly all administrative agencies and destroyed official documents. Thus, the exact number of death due to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima remains unknown. Many victims were never identified.

According to a document submitted by the city of Hiroshima to the United Nations in 1976 entitled “For the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and the Reduction of All Armed Forces and All Armaments,” an estimated 140,000 (±10,000) people died as a result of the A-bomb between August 6, 1945, and the end of December.

Not only Japanese but approximately 20,000 Koreans, 12 American POWs and 8 Asian students studying at Hiroshima University died.

After that, many survivors died of cancer or some other diseases, but it is very difficult to prove the relation between their diseases and radiation, and moreover, even now lots of survivors are not acknowledged as survivors and can’t get “survivor’s health book.”

Q:What is "A-bomb survivor' book"? - click this title
A-bomb survivor's health book

Ｑ:How many survivors are there in foreign countries?
 2,178 survivors live in foreign counties. Most of them live in South Korea (as of March ,2025)

 Ｑ:How many victims, who were within 500m from the hypocenter, live now?
Twelve victims (2 men and 10 women = blue spots) are alive now (June 1, 2014) and 78 victims (yellow and blue spots)  were alive in 1972 (27 years after the war). Most of them were in solid buildings, and six were in crowded streetcars. Many survivors developed serious diseases and four of them are suffering from multiple cancers. Four victims lost their parents and became orphans, and many were discriminated against.
(Research by KAMATA Nanao,a professor emeritus at the University of Hiroshima) 

This chart shows where the 78 victims were when the bomb exploded.

Ｑ:What is ABCC?

The ABCC was set up in November 1946 by the U.S. National Academy of Science to conduct investigations into the effects of radiation among hibakusha in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and from March 1947, it opened an office within the Red Cross Hospital in Hiroshima. Initially it was funded solely by the Atomic Energy Commission, but later the U.S. Public Health Department, the National Cancer Research Institute as well as the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute co-funded it.
In November 1950, the ABCC research complex, equipped with various types of the most sophisticated medical instruments, was built on top of the hill at Hijiyama, about 2 kilometers from the city center. It was devoted to collecting a wide range of data regarding the effects of radiation on human bodies, but it provided no medical care to hibakusha. The findings of its scientific research and studies were intended to be utilized to estimate the casualties of future nuclear wars. To achieve this goal, the ABCC conducted medical examinations of many hibakusha, who were brought to the attention of the ABCC by local medical doctors and hospitals. It also asked the relatives of the deceased hibakusha to donate their bodies for autopsies. As hibakusha were always suspicious about the purpose of the ABCC’s investigation and did not trust its staff, the ABCC had to lure the people by providing pecuniary benefit.

ABCC visited the schools in Hiroshima City and took many pictures of boys and girs with keloid scars, and examined their sex organs in the office.

ABCC dissected 7,500 dead victims’ bodies and sent their organs to the United States. After being examined, some of them were given to Hiroshima University 28 years later.

In 1975, Japan and the United States agreed to share equally the operation and management of the facility. The commission was reorganized and renamed the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF).

 

http://www.rerf.jp/index_e.html 
The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in retrospect

200,000 died in the Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg,was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II.The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island. Their invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces.

The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or tetsu no bōfū ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese.The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Based on Okinawan government sources, mainland Japan lost 77,166 soldiers, who were either killed or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered 14,009 deaths (with an estimated total of more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds). Simultaneously, 42,000-150,000 local civilians were killed or committed suicide, a significant proportion of the local population. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki together with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria caused Japan to surrender less than two months after the end of the fighting on Okinawa.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
 

Battle of Okinawa by Ted Tsukiyama

Student nurse recalls horror of Okinawa fighting

Compulsory Mass Suicide, the Battle of Okinawa, and Japan's Textbook Controversy Aniya Masaaki, The Okinawa Times, and Asahi Shinbun:
http://www.japanfocus.org/-Aniya-Masaaki/2629 
Peace Park shows devastation of Batttle of Okinawa by David Knickerbocker：
http://www.japanupdate.com/archive/index.php?id=974

A-bomb survivor's health book

Who are acknowledged as  survivors?

 All over Japan today, 106,825 survivors have official certificates called the "A-bomb survivor's health book".  They don’t have to pay a part of the medical expenses. 

  There are some who don't want to have this certificate, for they are afraid of being discriminated against because they are survivors. This was especially true when the survivors were still single, because it was very difficult for survivors to get married.

  The Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law defines hibakusha (Atomic Bomb survivors) as people who fall into one of the four classes. Hibakusha are entitled to government support.

[the numbers of survivors are current as of March, 2025]

First class: These people were within 4 or 5 km of the hypocenter when the bomb exploded. （57,976 survivors）

Second class: These people entered the area within 2 km and within two weeks. (17,802 survivors).

Third class: These people treated or cremated many victims.  (16,949 survivors).

Fourth class: These people were exposed to radiation in utero.  (6,403survivors)

 The A-bomb affected fetuses in utero. Some were stillborn, and children who were born without obvious problems had a higher death rate, even after weaning. Some survivors who had been exposed in utero close to the hypocenter and early in the pregnancy were born with abnormally small heads. Levels of mental retardation that make its victims unable to manage everyday life without assistance often accompany this condition, called microcephaly. Today there are 14 survivors suffering from microcephaly.  
  


If a survivor can prove that his disease is because of the radiation, he can get a special allowance. But even now, only five percent of the survivors receive it, because the official standards for receiving it are too strict. 




  Of course, second-generation survivors cannot get the certificates. 

  The effects of the bomb continue to be present more than 68 years after it was dropped. For example, new types of cancers are now being found mainly among the survivors who were close to the hypocenter, possibly because of damaged genes. Two or three of these original cancers develop from different organs, which are called multiple cancers.

The Japanese Government established a law about the medical care of the A-bomb victims  in 1957.

I got this certificate at the age of 20. (8 years after the law was enacted) 

My mother, who was four month pregnant with me, entered the center of Hiroshima to see what happened to our house on August 9.  So she belongs to the second class, and I belong to the fourth class.

My father was in the center of Hiroshima City when the bomb was dropped, and he belonged to the first class.

My grandmother never entered Hiroshima City, but took care of many victims. She belonged to the third class.

 

Click here to read my mother's testimony about her father's death.
My Father's Sixth of August, 1945 in Hiroshima

A-bomb Dome

　The Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall was constructed in 1915 as a base for promoting the sale of goods produced in Hiroshima Prefecture. The building designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel was highly regarded for its imposing, European-style design. Its name changed to Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall and then to Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Intensification of the war led the government to discontinue commercial uses of the Industrial Promotion Hall in March 1944. Instead, it housed the branch office of the Chugoku Shikoku Public Works Office of the Internal Affairs Agency and the offices of the Hiroshima District Lumber and Japan Lumber Control Corporation.

　When the atomic bomb exploded, it ravaged the building instantly. Heat blazing from above consumed the entire building, killing everyone in it. Because the blast attacked the building from virtually straight overhead, some walls escaped total collapse. Along with the wire framework of the dome, these form the shape that has become a symbol. At some point it became known as the "A-bomb Dome."

　In 1966, Hiroshima City determined to preserve the A-bomb Dome indefinitely and solicited funds from within Japan and overseas. To date, the A-bomb Dome has undergone three preservation projects.

　As a historical witness that conveys the disaster of the first atomic bombing in history, and as a symbol of the vow to pursue the abolition of nuclear weapons and enduring peace, in December 1996 the A-bomb Dome was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List based on the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Jan Letzel

                                                              design drawing

                                                       Under construction 

garden

Tea room

CG (by University of Southern California)

Ministry of Industry and Trade in Czech build in 1932 

model

Photographed at the explosion spot (by Chugoku Shinbun)

A-bomb Dome(UNESCO)

 

Canada's historical role in developing nuclear weapons

The extraction and processing of uranium as well as research into the production of nuclear materials for military purposes are part of Canada's history. The better-known chapter of that history is probably Canada's participation in the Manhattan Project during the Second World War (WWII), when our country supplied and refined uranium for use in U.S. facilities. Canada continued to be a supplier of uranium for military purposes for two decades after the war.

Less well known to most, perhaps, is our involvement in research to produce and extract plutonium as part of the Manhattan Project, which ended in 1946. Canada also sold irradiated (used) nuclear fuel, from which plutonium was extracted, to the U.S. between 1959 and 1964. All transfers of nuclear materials for non-peaceful purposes were halted the following year.

http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/resources/fact-sheets/Canadas-contribution-to-nuclear-weapons-development.cfm

Canada's forgotten role in the Manhattan Project

From Great Bear Lake to Hiroshima, a Concordia academic explores the Highway of the Atom's troubled legacy

  Great Bear Lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories is a vast inland sea; nearly 31 thousand square kilometers.
  On the far eastern shore, where no one lives today, just below where the tree-line cuts across the immense glacial body of the lake, carved into barely fathomable depths sometime in the late Pleistocene, at the far end of what is now called McTavish Arm, buttressed in ancient granites by the very western edge of the Precambrian Shield, lies Port Radium.
  This land, home to the Sahtú Dene for some number of millennia, is also a site of considerable significance to Canada’s atomic history. A point of origin, one might say, where a frontier economy with its currency of fur, shifted awkwardly toward the very contemporary projects of an atomic modernity.
  From here, on Great Bear Lake, uranium ore was transported south by river and rail, leaking as it went, for processing at Port Hope, and then into the productive centers of World War II – the Manhattan Project as it is conventionally known – subsequently extending itself over the clear morning skies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and back again into the Dene community at Déline in the form of cancers, stories, addictions, and depression. This is a very long and complex route, in part material, topographic, narrative, archival and memorial. It has come to be called the Highway of the Atom.
http://www.concordia.ca/cunews/main/stories/2015/08/06/anniversary-of-hiroshima-peter-van-wyck.html 

The World’s Most Dangerous Nuclear Weapon Just Rolled Off the Assembly Line

  With the creation of a new “mini-nuke” warhead, the US is making nuclear war all the more probable.

By James Carroll  FEBRUARY 12, 2019

  Last month, the National Nuclear Security Administration (formerly the Atomic Energy Commission) announced that the first of a new generation of strategic nuclear weapons had rolled off the assembly line at its Pantex nuclear-weapons plant in the panhandle of Texas. That warhead, the W76-2, is designed to be fitted to a submarine-launched Trident missile, a weapon with a range of more than 7,500 miles. By September, an undisclosed number of warheads will be delivered to the Navy for deployment.

  What makes this particular nuke new is the fact that it carries a far smaller destructive payload than the thermonuclear monsters the Trident has been hosting for decades—not the equivalent of about 100 kilotons of TNT as previously, but of five kilotons. According to Stephen Young of the Union of Concerned Scientists, the W76-2 will yield “only” about one-third of the devastating power of the weapon that the Enola Gay, an American B-29 bomber, dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Yet that very shrinkage of the power to devastate is precisely what makes this nuclear weapon potentially the most dangerous ever manufactured. Fulfilling the Trump administration’s quest for nuclear-war-fighting “flexibility,” it isn’t designed as a deterrent against another country launching its nukes; it’s designed to be used. This is the weapon that could make the previously “unthinkable” thinkable.

full text https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/mini-nukes-nuclear-weapons-trump-war/

US adds ‘low yield’ nuclear weapon to its submarine arsenal

By ROBERT BURNS 
February 4, 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has deployed a new addition to its nuclear arsenal — a long-range missile armed with a nuclear warhead of reduced destructive power. The so-called low-yield missile joins other, more powerful weapons aboard stealthy submarines prowling the oceans.
The debut deployment aboard long-range submarines, known as boomers, is a landmark in U.S. nuclear weapons policy. It is the first major addition to the strategic nuclear arsenal in recent decades and is a departure from the Obama administration’s policy of lessening dependence on nuclear weapons in pursuit of a nuclear-free world. 
full text https://apnews.com/b910d5f4f2076d558416ae021b511517

 

Visitors reading my books

Two monuments beside the A-bomb Dome

The A-bomb exploded directly over the Shima Clinic, which was 160m from the A-bomb Dome. In the center of the building was a stairwell. The shape of the tower is cylindrical. The pressure from the blast was distributed equally, due to its cylindrical shape. Parts of the concrete and brick outer walls remained intact. It is estimated that approximately 30 workers inside the building were killed instantly.

There are two monuments beside the A-bomb Dome. One is “Monument of the Hiroshima Lumber Control Corporation”; the other is “Monument to Those Who Died from The Chugoku Shikoku Public Workers Office.”

Monument of the Hiroshima Lumber Control Corporation

On the front of this monument, the words “Rest in Peace” are carved, and on the back “During World War Ⅱ、the Hiroshima Lumber Control Corporation of Japan, had itsmain office with 260 employees in this building. However, at 8:15 on August 6, 1945, with the explosion of the atomic bomb over one hundred employees were killed as they went about their duties. When he decision was made to preserve these ruins, the surviving employees gathered at the suggestion of Koich Tanka who was then the preseident. This monument is dedicated to our dead fellow-workers, parying for the repose of their souls and fro a lasting world peace. It is also dedicated to those who died from the Japan Lumber Control Corporation, Hiroshima Branch, and Hirohsima Shipping Lumber Corparation.

  August 6, 1967. The surviving staff of the Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation.”

  Monument to Those Who Died from the Chugoku Shikoku Public Office 

At the time of the explosion, this branch office occupied a room in the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (the A-bomb Dome) and was hit directly by the dome. Of 93 staffers of the branch office who were relocated to the rented entire third floor and part of the first floor of Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion 52 were killed on duty and 9 were injured, excepting those who evacuated to the official residence in Ushida-cho and other facilities.

Epigraph

Poem Monument: "The loss of those sacrificed by the A-bombing is the foundation of a peaceful world"

Back of the monument: "52 former staffers of the Chugoku & Shikoku Civil Engineering Branch Office of the Interior Ministry, while on duty as members of the National Militia Unit, became the foundation of peace as a result of the A-bombing and war damage on August 6, 1945, and now rest in the earth. August 6, 1954. Built by staffers of Construction Bureau of the Ministry of Construction Chugoku & Shikoku Regions."

PEACE "WATCH" TOWER

This Watch Tower stands on the first floor of the HIroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

top

bottom

Doomsday clock' still at five to midnight, scientists warn

Historic photos taken that day

Pictures at Miyuki Bridge
(2,300m from the hypocenter)

Yoshito Matsushige (January 2, 1913 – January 16, 2005) was a Japanese photojournalist who survived the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and took five photographs on the day of the bombing in Hiroshima, the only photographs taken that day within Hiroshima that are known.

Matsushige was born in Kure, Hiroshima in 1913. He took a job in a newspaper after finishing school and in 1943 entered the photography section of the newspaper Chugoku Shimbun.

Matsushige was at home 2.7 km south of the hypocentre at the time of the explosion. He was not seriously injured, and determined to go to the city centre. A fire forced him back to Miyuki bridge. As a press photographer, he tried to take photos of the terrible state of Miyuki Bridge, but faced with the hellish scenes in front of him, he could not make himself press the shutter. After struggling in that spot for over thirty minutes, he finally steeled himself and pressed the shutter, but later worried that the dead and injured victims might have thought he was merciless, because he was taking photos instead of trying to help them.

He tried again later that day but was too nauseated to take more than three more frames. The first two frames are of people who escaped serious injury next to Miyuki bridge; the second of these was taken closer up and shows them having cooking oil applied to their burns. A third shows a policeman, his head bandaged, issuing certificates to civilians. The last pair were taken close to home: one of the damage to his family's barbershop, and another out of his window.
Five pictures are here http://maxmccoy.com/1945.htm
His testimony is on this website 
Testimony of Yoshito Matsushige 

The girl in the sailor-type school uniform, with her back to the camera, was a mobilized student, 13 years old at the time. She stands behind a man in uniform, applying oil to a civilian with severe burns on his upper body. That civilian, whose head and right arm are showing over the right shoulder of the man in uniform, is the girl’s father.

Her story is on this website.

"Hellish scene at Miyuki Bridge"(The Chugoku Shimbun  Jun. 27, 2010 )

 　　　　　　　Mitsuko Kouchi was in this Hiroshima Savings Bureau 

(1,610m from the hypocenter)

This is  a  picture I took when I met  Mitsuko Kouchi in 2009.

 
 

Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace

 　On February 25, 1981, Pope John Paul II made his Appeal for Peace in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Appeal for Peace, calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons, greatly impressed people all around the world.
 　 In response to a request by many people to create a monument based on the Pope's Appeal for Peace that would serve as a source of peace inspiration, the Committee for Monument Commemorating Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace was organized. Two years after the Appeal for Peace, an unveiling ceremony for the monument was held in the lobby on the first floor of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
 　The monument, made of white marble from Carrara, Italy, is engraved with words selected from Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace, in both Japanese and English. The sculpture, symbolizing the world aspiring to work together for future harmony, stability and coexistence, represents humankind's hope for peace. 

Appeal for Peace
http://atomicbombmuseum.org/6_5.shtml 

Six A-bombed trees in and around Peace Park

Today, almost seven decades after the atomic bomb, Hiroshima is a green and vibrant modern city. Many of the trees that were planted in the city after the war were gifts from overseas donors and donors from other parts of Japan. However, about 170 trees that are still standing today were actually around the vicinity when the bomb exploded. Though broken and badly charred, they survived and soon were healthy again.

1300m Chinese parasol trees  At Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

The trees used to be at the courtyard of the Hiroshima Post and Telecommunication Bureau, which was located to the northeast of the castle. They were transplanted to the north side of the memorial museum in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in 1973. The survivors of the atomic bomb were encouraged when the parasol trees had new buds in the spring of 1946. 

Blossoms of the tree

370m Weeping willow  On the Motomachi riverbank of the Ota River

The A-bombed tree closest to the hypocenter. The willow tree fell at the time of the atomic bombing, but new buds sprouted from the roots. 

450m Weeping willow  At Hanover Garden

Located in the Hanover Garden near the city's planetarium (Hiroshima Children's Museum). Gokoku Shrine, the Hiroshima First Army Hospital and the Western Drill Ground of the Army were around here at the time of the atomic bombing. Some of the many willow trees around here survived.

The Hanover Garden was created in 1980 as a symbol of the friendship between Hiroshima and Hanover, which concluded a sister-city relationship in 1983.

740m Eucalypt    At "Ninomaru" (second compound), Hiroshima Castle

The eucalypt is 740 meters away from the hypocenter. It was probably planted here in the early 20th century. It broke at 2.5 meters above the ground in a typhoon in 1971, but sprouted again.

740m Giant pussy willow.Close to "Ninomaru" (second compound), Hiroshima Castle

The willow is 770 meters away from the hypocenter. The tree has round leaves, so it is called "maruba-yanagi" in Japanese, meaning "round-leaf willow." It has a big scar, but it looks well taken care of and thriving.

910m Kurogane hollies   At "Honmaru" (main compound), Hiroshima Castle

Located at Hiroshima Castle's Honmaru (main compound). It is said that there are three A-bombed kurogane hollies here. These trees were in front of the building used as the Imperial Headquarters during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). The building was completely destroyed by the atomic bomb. Today, only its foundations remain. 

Informative Websites

Hiroshima Peace Media Center

http://hpmmuseum.jp/?lang=eng

The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus NUCLEAR AGE PEACE FOUNDATION ICAN (international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons ) Gallery of U.S. Nuclear Tests Guided Tours to Peace Memorial Park and Vicinity The human cost of nuclear weapons

The human cost of depleted uranium

During the Gulf War in 1991, US and UK forces used a new weapon against Iraq. This new weapon, the depleted uranium (DU) projectile, is radioactive. Unlike atomic or hydrogen bombs, it involves no nuclear fusion or fission, but nine years after the end of the war, adverse health effects from DU exposure continue to manifest among military personnel and civilians in Iraq where the fighting took place, and among US and British veterans and their families. As I traveled through the US, UK, and Iraq to cover this story, I was confronted at every turn by the sad and frightening spectre of "discounted casualties,"- people exposed to depleted uranium and other toxic substances, and now tormented by leukemia and a whole array of chronic disorders.  (Akira Tashiro, senior staff writer,The Chogoku Shinbun) The whole text:http://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/abom/uran/index_e.html

Japanese leaders should have decided to surrender much earlier.

Japanese leaders should have decided to surrender much earlier.

 

On March 10, 1945, a 2-hour air raid on Tokyo killed about 100,000.

It was the single most destructive bombing raid in history.

 

The battle of Okinawa (early April – June 23, 1945) killed about 200,000.

Japan lost over 100,000 soldiers, and the Allies suffered more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds.

A quarter of the local civilians were killed, or committed suicide.

 

About 2,100,000 Japanese soldiers died and 60% of them starved to death.

 

About 3,100,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians died and 65% of them died in the last one year of the war.

 

The Instructions for the Battlefield, which were given by the military concerning the mental attitude of a soldier, said, “Never live to experience shame as a prisoner.”(= Commit suicide before becoming a captive.)

 

　The Instructions for the Battlefield (戦陣訓 Senjinkun) was a pocket-sized military code issued to soldiers in the Imperial Japanese forces on 8 January 1941 in the name of then War Minister Hideki Tojo. It was in use at the outbreak of the Pacific War.

　The Senjinkun was regarded as a supplement to the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors, which was already required reading for the Japanese military. It listed a number of exhortations regarding military regulations, combat readiness, esprit de corps, filial piety, veneration of Shinto kami, and Japan's kokutai. The code specifically forbade retreat or surrender. The quote "Never live to experience shame as a prisoner." was repeatedly cited as the cause of numerous suicides committed by soldiers and civilians.

　Japanese soldiers were instructed to “show mercy to those who surrender”. This was written in response to prior misconduct on the battlefield.

　Towards the end of the war, copies of the Senjinkun were also distributed to the civilian population of Japan as part of the preparation for Operation Downfall, the expected invasion of the Japanese home islands by Allied forces.

PEACE DECLARATION（Hiroshima 202５）

Every year on August 6, the City of Hiroshima holds a Peace Memorial Ceremony to pray for the peaceful repose of the victims, for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and for lasting world peace. During that ceremony, the Mayor issues a Peace Declaration directed toward the world at large. As long as the need persists, Hiroshima's mayor will continue to issue these declarations calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth. This is part of Hiroshima's effort to build a world of genuine and lasting world peace where no population will ever again experience the cruel devastation suffered by Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Peace Declaration 

Eighty years ago, Hiroshima was strewn with bodies too damaged to identify even their sex. One hibakusha (survivor) ignored the many glass shards piercing her body to cremate her father with her own hands. Elsewhere, a young woman begged, “Idon’t care if I die. Please! Give me water!” Decades later, a woman who heard that plea still regretted not giving the young woman water. She told herself that fighting for the elimination of nuclear weapons was the best she could do for those wh died. Another hibakusha spent his life alone because the parents of the woman he loved refused to let her marry anyone exposed to the bomb.

One hibakusha leader frequently reminded younger audiences, “Building a peaceful world without nuclear weapons will demand our never-give-up spirit. We have to talk and keep talking to people who hold opposing views.” Today, conveying the ardent pleas for peace derived from hibakusha experiences is more crucial than ever.

The United States and Russia still possess about 90 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the chaos in the Middle East are accelerating military buildups around the world. Feeling the pressure of this situation, policymakers in some countries even accept the idea that “nuclear weapons are essential for national defense.” These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history. They threaten to topple the peacebuilding frameworks so many have worked so hard to construct.

Despite the current turmoil at the nation-state level, we, the people, must never give up. Instead, we must work even harder to build civil society consensus that nuclear weapons must be abolished for a genuinely peaceful world. Our youth, the leaders of future generations, must recognize that misguided policies regarding military spending, national security, and nuclear weapons could bring utterly inhumane consequences. We urge them to step forward with this understanding and lead civil society toward consensus through expanded participation at the grassroots level. In this process, we must all remember to think less about ourselves and more about each other. Thinking of others is how humanity has resolved much conflict and turmoil on our path to the present day. Clearly, nations, too, must look beyond narrow self-interest to consider the circumstances of other nations.

In expanding grassroots initiatives, solidarity will be indispensable. Cultural arts and sports exchanges contribute enormously to the culture of peace we seek. And in fostering that culture of peace, young people can easily take the lead. All they need to do is conceive and initiate projects they can carry out in the course of daily life, such as peace-centered art and music projects or planting seeds and saplings from atomic-bombed trees. The City of Hiroshima continuously offers opportunities to experience the culture of peace built by Hiroshima’s hibakusha and other predecessors in their spirit of mutual support. The more our peace culture transcends national borders, the more it will pressure policymakers now relying on nuclear deterrence to revise their policies.

Policymakers around the world, can you not see that security policies derived from narrow self-interest are fomenting international conflict? Nations now strengthening their military forces, some including nuclear arsenals, must engage constructively in talks aimed at abandoning reliance on nuclear weapons. Please, visit Hiroshima. Witness with your own eyes what an atomic bombing does. Take to heart the peace-loving spirit of Hiroshima, then begin immediately discussing a security framework based on trust through dialogue.

Japan is the only nation that has suffered an atomic bombing in war. The Japanese government represents a people who aspire to genuine and lasting peace. Hiroshima demands that our government lead toward unification of our divided international community. As president of Mayors for Peace, already the world’s largest network of peace cities and still growing, the City of Hiroshima will collaborate with our more than 8,500 member cities worldwide to instill the culture of peace, which stands in firm opposition to military force. We will call on policymakers to revise their policies. We call on Japan, for example, to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Doing so would manifest the spirit of Hiroshima and begin to answer the supplications of our hibakusha, represented by Nihon Hidankyo, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is on the brink of dysfunctionality. The TPNW should serve as strong support for that treaty, helping it remain the cornerstone of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. We demand that Japan at least participate as an observer during the first TPNW Review Conference next year. Furthermore, in light of the intensified global challenges of coping with radiation damage due to nuclear testing, we demand that our government strengthen measures of support for all hibakusha, including those living abroad. With their average age now exceeding 86, they still face myriad hardships caused by radiation damage to their minds and bodies.

At this Peace Memorial Ceremony marking 80 years since the atomic bombing, we offer our heartfelt condolences to the souls of the victims of the atomic bombings. We renew our determination to work together with Nagasaki and with likeminded people around the world to reach humanity’s long-sought goal—the abolition of nuclear weapons leading to lasting world peace.

MATSUI Kazumi Mayor　The City of Hiroshima

Children's Peace Decraration

The day will come when there are no more hibakusha left in the world. In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, as many people as possible must know the truth of what happened.

Have you ever imagined what it was like on the day the atomic bomb was dropped?

At 8:15 am on August 6, 1945, the very first atomic bomb in the history of human warfare was dropped on Hiroshima, annihilating in an instant the lives we take for granted. Imagine: people burned beyond recognition, unending tears pouring with wails of despair. A single atomic bomb robbed countless people of their lives and changed the lives of survivors forever.

It has been 80 years since the atomic bombing. We now have less chances than ever to hear directly from the hibakusha as they speak of memories that are extremely painful; memories they would rather forget. No matter how much time passes, we cannot allow this tragedy to fade from memory. The responsibility to record and convey the voices of the hibakusha to the next generation falls to us.

Wars are happening right now in places around the world. There are so many people who have lost loved ones and the will to live.

We should take these facts personally and concern ourselves with peace. We should be accepting of diversity and work to understand others.  If each of us is considerate of each other’s feelings and speaks to one another with compassion, then there would be no more hurt or sadness. We believe that the smallest of gestures to those around you might one day lead to world peace.

One voice.

When spoken with conviction about the facts they learned, even just one voice can make a difference. It isn’t just adults, either. We, the children, also have the ability to take action for peace. In order to avoid repeating what happened that day, to avoid repeating the history of Hiroshima, we will build peace by continuing to convey the will of the hibakusha and weaving our voices together as one.

Children’s representatives:
Sekiguchi Chieri (6th year, Hiroshima City Minami Elementary School)

Sasaki Shun (6th year, Hiroshima City Gion Elementary School)

Disarmament (UN Global Issues)

In 2010, world military expenditures exceeded some $1.5 trillion.  The need for a culture of peace and for significant arms reduction worldwide has never been greater.  And this applies to all classes of weapons.

On the danger of nuclear weapons, Albert Einstein reportedly said:  “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”  

But the human and material cost of conventional weapons is also extreme.  Of at least 640 million licensed firearms worldwide, roughly two thirds are in the hands of civil society.  The legal trade in small arms and weapons exceeds $4 billion a year.  The illicit trade is estimated at $1 billion.  And such conventional weapons as landmines take an toll on life and limb that continues for years after the conflicts that spawned them are finished. And yet, beyond the obvious effects of these weapons is their deeper cost — a cost that stems from misplaced priorities and an absence of vision.

https://www.un.org/disarmament/

The number of nuclear tests

The Nuclear Testing Tally

Since the first nuclear test explosion on July 16, 1945, at least eight nations have detonated 2,053 nuclear test explosions at dozens of test sites from Lop Nor in China, to the atolls of the Pacific, to Nevada, to Algeria where France conducted its first nuclear device, to western Australia where the U.K. exploded nuclear weapons, the South Atlantic, to Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, across Russia, and elsewhere.

The whole text:
http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/nucleartesttally  

The number of Nuclear Warheads, EXPOSURE－VICTIMS OF RADIATION SPEAK OUT

World Nuclear Stockpile Report

The exact number of nuclear weapons in global arsenals is not known. With little exception, each of the nine countries with nuclear weapons guards these numbers as closely held national secrets. What is known, however, is that more than a decade and a half after the Cold War ended, the world's combined stockpile of nuclear warheads remain at unacceptably high levels.
The whole text: https://ploughshares.org/world-nuclear-stockpile-report

EXPOSURE－VICTIMS OF RADIATION SPEAK OUT was first published as a series in the Chugoku Shimbun (daily newspaper) beginning in May 1989 and continuing through May 1990. The series comprised 134 articles. The original Japanese, Sekai no Hibakusha, was published in book form in Japanese in 1991 by Kodansha Ltd. The English version in 1992 by Kodansha International. The translation was done by Kirsten Mclvor.
EXPOSURE－VICTIMS OF RADIATION SPEAK OUT