Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors (“hibakusha”) will attend Pearl Harbor memorial events on Dec. 7 and will meet with the public during peace activity events in Hawaii. The public is invited to meet and dialogue with the first- through fourth- generation Nagasaki bomb survivors. The hibakusha will also host a public bell-ringing ceremony on Dec. 8 where they will ring the Nagasaki Peace Bell that was donated to the USA 35 years ago as an everlasting symbol of peace.
Nagasaki was the second city hit by a U.S. atomic bomb in World War II. Those who survived the attack are now first-generation atomic bomb survivors averaging 86.1 years old, and their generation is disappearing. Nagasaki citizens are knowledgeable of the U.S. phrase, “Remember Pearl Harbor,” and their own, “No more Nagasaki” — both of which are stark reminders of what happened because of the war.
Since the end of WWII, Hibakusha from Nagasaki and elsewhere in Japan have strongly advocated for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. This year the hibakusha organization Nihon Hidankyo won the Nobel Peace Prize for its unwavering support for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and for its members sharing thousands of personal testimonies to strengthen global resolve against the use of nuclear weapons.
The planned December trip to Hawaii is the first time that Nagasaki hibakusha will meet and dialogue with groups of residents, especially college and high school students and family members of military and civilian personnel who served at Pearl Harbor during WWII. The hibakusha want to hear from people about their WWII experiences, their views of global peace, and how they might work together to avoid future warfare and achieve long-term peace.
The leader of the Nagasaki group is Dr. Masao Tomonaga, a first-generation atomic bomb survivor who has dedicated his life to studying the medical effects of the atomic bomb and educating the public. He was recently selected to the new UN Scientific Panel on the Effects of Nuclear War, as announced by UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres. Dr. Tomonaga was 2 years old and sleeping in his Japanese house when the bomb blast crushed their house. He was lucky and unharmed, and his mother took him out of the ruined house before it caught fire and burned to the ground 15 minutes after the bomb detonation. The blast and the fire are hallmarks of an atomic bomb. Dr. Tominaga will be conducting public lectures in Honolulu on the medical effects of the atomic bomb.
The hibakusha will attend educational sessions at Pearl Harbor to learn from the U.S. side about the December 1941 attack, and they will attend the annual Dec. 7 Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony to honor and pay tribute to the fallen.
They know that Nagasaki City is forever linked to Honolulu since the torpedoes used in the Pearl Harbor attack were manufactured by the Nagasaki Mitsubishi Weapons Factory located in their hometown of Nagasaki City.
The Nagasaki Peace Bell ringing ceremony that is open to the public will be held at the Frank F. Fasi Municipal Grounds on Dec. 8. Hawaii’s Peace Bell has great historic significance. After WWII, Nagasaki hibakusha donated replicas of the iconic Urakami Cathedral bell destroyed by the atomic bomb to Japan’s wartime enemies. Urakami Cathedral had been the spiritual hub in Nagasaki for the “hidden Christians” persecuted in the 17th century after the Tokunaga Shogunate declared Christianity illegal.
The replica Nagasaki bells were delivered to Shenyang, China; Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia; and Honolulu. Honolulu received its bell in 1990 and has held annual peace bell ceremonies for 32 years, thereby helping to realize the hibakusha’s goal for the donated peace bells to become perpetual reminders of peace to Japan’s WWII adversaries. The hibakusha hope to meet many Hawaii residents for discussions and invite all residents to join them in the pursuit of lasting peace.
Steve Terada recently returned from Nagasaki where he obtained a graduate degree in disaster radiation medical science from Nagasaki University. He has worked in Hawaii real estate, for the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Army Garrison Japan, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
