Hibakusha

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A victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, she suffered severe burns; the pattern on her skin is from the kimono she was wearing at the time of the bombing.

The surviving victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are called hibakusha (被爆者), a Japanese word that literally translates to "explosion-affected people". Many victims were Japanese who still live in Japan, but several thousand, Japanese and non-Japanese, live abroad in Korea, the United States, Brazil and elsewhere.

Official recognition

The Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law defines hibakusha as people who fall into one of the following categories: within a few kilometers of the hypocenters of the bombs; within 2 km of the hypocenters within two weeks of the bombings; exposed to radiation from fallout; or not yet born but carried by pregnant women in any of these categories.[1] As of March 31, 2011, 219,410 hibakusha were recognized by the Japanese government, most living in Japan.[2] The government of Japan recognizes about 1% of these as having illnesses caused by radiation.[3]

Hibakusha are entitled to government support. They receive a certain amount of allowance per month. About 1%, certified as suffering from bomb-related diseases, receive a special medical allowance.[4]

The memorials in Hiroshima and Nagasaki contain lists of the names of the hibakusha who are known to have died since the bombings. Updated annually on the anniversaries of the bombings, as of August 2011 the memorials record the names of more than 430,000 hibakusha; 275,230 in Hiroshima[5] and 155,546 in Nagasaki.[6]

Panoramic view of the monument marking the hypocenter, or ground zero, of the atomic bomb explosion over Nagasaki.
Citizens of Hiroshima walk by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the closest building to have survived the city's atomic bombing.
A photograph of Sumiteru Taniguchi's back injuries taken in January 1946 by a U.S. Marine photographer.

Korean survivors

During the war, Japan brought many Korean conscripts to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to work as forced labor. According to recent estimates, about 20,000 Koreans were killed in Hiroshima and about 2,000 died in Nagasaki. It is estimated that one in seven of the Hiroshima victims was of Korean ancestry.[7] For many years, Koreans had a difficult time fighting for recognition as atomic bomb victims and were denied health benefits. However, most issues have been addressed in recent years through lawsuits.[8]

Other foreign survivors

While one British Commonwealth citizen[9][10][11][12][13] and seven Dutch POWs (two names known)[14] died in the Nagasaki bombing, at least two POWs reportedly died postwar from cancer thought to have been caused by the atomic bomb.[15][16] One American POW, Joe Kieyoomia, was in Nagasaki at the time of the bombing but survived, reportedly having been shielded from the effects of the bomb by the concrete walls of his cell.[17]

Double survivors

People who suffered the effects of both bombings are known as nijū hibakusha in Japan.

A documentary called Twice Survived: The Doubly Atomic Bombed of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was produced in 2006. The producers found 165 people who were victims of both bombings, and the production was screened at the United Nations.[18]

On March 24, 2009, the Japanese government officially recognized Tsutomu Yamaguchi (1916–2010) as a double hibakusha. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was confirmed to be 3 kilometers from ground zero in Hiroshima on a business trip when the bomb was detonated. He was seriously burnt on his left side and spent the night in Hiroshima. He got back to his home city of Nagasaki on August 8, a day before the bomb in Nagasaki was dropped, and he was exposed to residual radiation while searching for his relatives. He was the first officially recognised survivor of both bombings.[19] Tsutomu Yamaguchi died at the age of 93 on January 4, 2010 of stomach cancer.[20]

Discrimination

Hibakusha and their children were (and still are) victims of severe discrimination due to lack of knowledge about the consequences of radiation sickness, which people believed to be hereditary or even contagious.[21]

Studs Terkel's book The Good War includes a conversation with two hibakusha. The postscript observes:

There is considerable discrimination in Japan against the hibakusha. It is frequently extended toward their children as well: socially as well as economically. "Not only hibakusha, but their children, are refused employment," says Mr. Kito. "There are many among them who do not want it known that they are hibakusha."

— Studs Terkel (1984), The Good War.[22]

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization (日本被団協, Nihon Hidankyō) is a group formed by hibakusha in 1956 with the goals of pressuring the Japanese government to improve support of the victims and lobbying governments for the abolition of nuclear weapons.[23]

Health

People

Representations

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Overseas Atomic Bomb Survivors Support Program". Atomic Bomb Survivors Affairs Division Health And Welfare Department Nagasaki prefectural Government. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  2. ^ "Hiroshima marks city's A-bombing". Yomiuri Shimbun. Aug. 7, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Relief for A-bomb victims". The Japan Times. 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  4. ^ "30 A-bomb survivors apply for radiation illness benefits". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  5. ^ "Kan commits to reducing reliance on nuclear power at Hiroshima memorial". Mainichi Daily News. August 6, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  6. ^ "Nagasaki marks A-bombing". Yomiuri Shimbun. August 10, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  7. ^ Mikiso Hane (2001). Modern Japan: A Historical Survey. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3756-9.
  8. ^ Hibakusha: A Korean's fight to end discrimination toward foreign A-bomb victims[dead link], Mainichi Daily News. May 9, 2008.
  9. ^ "Nagasaki memorial adds British POW as A-bomb victim". The Japan Times. August 9, 1945. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ [1] This reference also lists at least three other POWS who died on 9-8-1945
  11. ^ "CWGC :: Casualty Details". Cwgc.org. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ "CWGC :: Casualty Details". Cwgc.org. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ^ [2] does not tell if these were Nagasaki casualties
  14. ^ "Two Dutch POWs join Nagasaki bomb victim list". The Japan Times. August 9, 1945. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ [3][dead link]
  16. ^ It Gave Him Life—It Took It, Too United States Merchant Marine.org website
  17. ^ "How Effective Was Navajo Code? One Former Captive Knows", News from Indian Country, August 1997.
  18. ^ "Twice Bombed, Twice Survived: Film Explores Untold Stories from Hiroshima & Nagasaki". Columbia University. August 2, 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  19. ^ Japan Confirms First Double A-Bomb Survivor
  20. ^ "Man who survived two atom bombs dies". CNN. January 8, 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  21. ^ "Prejudice haunts atomic bomb survivors". Japan Times. Retrieved 2007-08-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Terkel, Studs (1984). The Good War. Random House. p. 542.
  23. ^ "Welcome to HIDANKYO". Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization (Nihon Hidankyo) website. Retrieved 2007-08-31. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

Further reading

External links

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