Special Report LAST UPDATE September 6, 2008
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September 1, 2008 General Information – The Atomic Bombs and Hibakusha
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In August 1945, 63 years ago, atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These were the first, and only, nuclear attacks in the history of humankind.

The bombing of Hiroshima took place on Monday 6 August, 1945. The weapon, named “Little Boy”, was dropped from the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay, directly killing an estimated 80,000 people. Three days later, on 9 August, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. This bomb caused around 75,000 injuries and the same number of deaths. The atomic bomb exploded 500 meters above the point at 171 Matsuyama town in Nagasaki City, where the Peace Park is now situated.

Destruction was instantaneous, and there was massive loss of life from the enormous explosions. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought total casualties in Hiroshima to 140,000 (±10,000), of the city's estimated population of 350,000, and 75,000 also died in Nagasaki by the end of the year. In the case of Hiroshima, because the A-bomb exploded close to the center of the city, and because 85% of the buildings were within 3 km of the hypocenter, destruction to the city was nearly complete, with 90% of buildings collapsed or burned.
While the heat and blast of the explosion incurred great damage, the third form of damage – radiation – must be paid particular attention. It continues to cause ongoing suffering for the survivors, who have had to deal with not only tremendous social and economic losses, but also ongoing serious affects on their health. Radiation continued to cause myriad disorders for decades. Those who managed to survive continue to suffer from terrible aftereffects such as keloid scars, atomic bomb cataract, microcephaly, leukemia and cancer. Even today, after more than fifty years, the full range of effects of radiation taken into the body has yet to be clarified. The complex effects of the this permanent anxiety, compounded by their other losses, has created numerous obstacles that impaired the survivors' recovery of physical and economic well-being.

The survivors of the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are widely referred to as Hibakusha. (The Japanese word translates literally to "explosion-affected people".) As of March 31, 2008, there were 243,692 living hibakusha certified by the Japanese government, with an average age of over 75. Almost all live in Japan, but several thousand bomb survivors live in Korea and elsewhere.

 
The Hibakusha, many of whom continue to suffer from the effects of the bombs, have made great contributions in the past 63 years. Mayor Akiba of Hiroshima lists their major contributions as:
The fact that they were able to transcend the infernal pain and despair that the bombings sowed and to opt for life. The will and courage that made it possible for the hibakusha to choose life and continue to be human under circumstances in which none would have blamed them had they chosen death.

Their effective prevention of a third use of nuclear weapons. Their determination to tell their story to the world, to argue eloquently that to use nuclear weapons is to doom the human race, and to show the use of nuclear weapons to be the ultimate evil has helped to prevent a third use thus far.

Their embodiment of the new worldview engraved on the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and articulated in the peace clauses of Japanese Constitution. The atomic bombs dropped on Japan by the United States during World War II displayed the might of nuclear weapons to the world. The Cold War that developed after the war intensified the nuclear arms race, and nuclear weapons proliferated around the world. The nuclear arms race resulted in the manufacture and accumulation of more than enough weapons to destroy the environment and annihilate the human race. The global environment has been destroyed through nuclear testing, many innocent victims have been harmed in the vicinity of testing sites.

Information provided by the Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.