U.S. President Barack Obama said in a speech in Prague on April 5 that the United States has a moral responsibility to act as a nuclear power and as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon. His remarks, which can be interpreted as representing a major change in U.S. policy, have raised hopes among those who experienced the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Sunao Tsuboi, president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-Bomb Sufferers Organizations who became 84 on Tuesday, is one of them. "The word, 'hope,' is going back and forth in my brain," he said.
Since the average age of atomic bomb survivors is over 75, there is not much time left for us to listen to their experiences directly. President Obama is urged to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki and listen to what A-bomb survivors have to say. I believe it will be the first step toward fulfilling what he calls "moral responsibility."
I was involved in the "Hibakusha" ("A-bombing survivors") series, in which about 20 Mainichi Shimbun reporters periodically interview A-bomb survivors and report on their current situations, over a two-year period until March this year as a staff writer at the Hiroshima Bureau. I interviewed Tsuboi in the series.
Tsuboi suffered serious burns from the atomic bombing on a street in Hiroshima about 1.2 kilometers away from Ground Zero at the age of 20, and remained unconscious for about 40 days. There remain traces of burns on his forehead and ears. After the war, he suffered anemia, colon cancer and prostate cancer, and he regularly takes an anti-angina drug. While working as a junior high school mathematics teacher, he dedicated himself to a campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
When I began to interview him, I focused only on his role as the leader of an organization of A-bomb survivors. I was overwhelmed by the energy with which he pressed forward with his activities even though he was almost as old as my own grandfather. However, I learned through my interviews with him that Tsuboi lost a beloved person in the A-bombing and faced discrimination as a hibakusha, and noticed that his forward-looking attitude and enthusiasm derive from his sad experiences.
His atomic bombing experience as a student at Hiroshima Technical College, which is now part of Hiroshima University, was beyond my imagination. More than that, the woman he had dated the previous night was killed by the atomic bombing, and a classmate he had breakfast with shortly before the attack also died. Another classmate died after suddenly suffering from an A-bomb-related disease three years later.
"The starting point of my activity is the fact that I saw those who lost their lives. I can never tolerate nuclear weapons," he says.
He was subjected to discrimination against A-bomb survivors. A relative of his fiancee strongly opposed their marriage, saying, "Hibakusha die quickly. You can't tell what kind of child would be born." He even thought of running away to marry his fiancee.
As a militarist boy, Tsuboi harbored a grudge against the Untied States. Over about 10 years after Japan's defeat in the war, he had thought that "Japan should rearm itself and defeat the United States. We must seek revenge."
However, while participating in an anti-nuclear campaign, he transformed his grudge against the U.S. into energy to prevent anybody from falling victim to nuclear attacks.
After Obama took office, he sent a letter to the U.S. president with members of other organizations of A-bomb survivors, asking him to visit Hiroshima.
"We still have a long way to go before the realization of a nuclear-free world. There are many things to do and I need more time. I can't die yet," Tsuboi says.
The United States had long justified its atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the grounds that they helped end the war earlier and saved many lives.
While appreciating the "moral responsibility" that President Obama mentioned in his Prague speech as a major shift in U.S. policy, after witnessing the nuclear age for 64 years, Tsuboi is not optimistic about the possibility of nuclear disarmament.
Obama's speech reportedly stirred criticism in the United States. "There are opponents and things won't progress as the president says. I'd like to closely watch any developments," Tsuboi says.
What Tsuboi wants to convey to Obama is probably not only the tragedy of atomic bombings but also the plight of A-bomb survivors and the feelings they have shown to the world by overcoming their troubles.
Some A-bomb survivors intend to demand Obama, as the U.S. leader, offer an apology for the atomic bombings if he visits Japan, but Tsuboi said it does not matter if Obama expresses an apology or not. "The future is more important than the responsibility for the past. I think the president feels a sense of responsibility for realizing a nuclear-free world in the future."
I'd like to expect much from Obama's use of the phrase, "moral responsibility." All those who insist that nuclear arms are necessary would feel shocked if they hear A-bomb survivors talk about their experiences.
If the president has a chance to listen to what Tsuboi and other A-bomb survivors say about their experiences, I believe he will feel the weight of their words, and use the opportunity to take a step toward realizing a nuclear-free world to fulfill his moral responsibilities.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter visited Hiroshima in 1984, and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev went to Nagasaki in 1991. Many other dignitaries have visited the world's only atomic-bombed cities. However, no U.S. president has ever visited these cities while they were in office.
I earnestly hope that President Obama will meet with Tsuboi and other A-bomb survivors and that the experience will help realize a nuclear-free world. (By Mizuki Osawa, Hanshin Bureau)
(Mainichi Japan) May 5, 2009
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