By EMIKA TERASHIMA/ Correspondent
November 10, 2023 at 17:13 JST
RALEIGH, North Carolina--Eighty-one-year-old Shizuko Mitamura admitted she was nervous because she did not know how Americans would react to her first-hand experiences as an atomic bomb survivor.
She is part of a group of hibakusha who have embarked on a tour across the United States to share their harrowing experiences, believing that achieving a world without nuclear weapons lies in educating citizens who can influence their governments.
The tour participants include three atomic bomb survivors in their 80s and seven other second- and third-generation survivors.
They began their journey at a private school in Durham, North Carolina, on Nov. 8.
On the first day, the hibakusha from Nagasaki stood before a large audience, filled with anxiety about what reactions they would receive in the country that had dropped the bomb--and still possesses nuclear weapons.
Mitamura used a slideshow of images to tell her story to around 150 elementary and junior high school students and their parents.
Mitamura was exposed to the atomic bomb blast when she was 3. She battled cancer four times including developing colon cancer before the age of 40.
In 2010, she lost her eldest daughter to cancer. After this, she began sharing her experiences.
She joined the tour thinking, “I want to convey the horrors of radiation to children.”
Mitamura could not sleep on the plane flight to America and even after arriving at her hotel, she spent every spare moment reviewing her script.
But on stage, her words were filled with emotion. The students listened intently.
When her speech was over, students stood and applauded. Some with tears in their eyes came forward to ask her for a handshake.
Masao Tomonaga, 80, a hibakusha and doctor, explained the mechanism by which radiation affects the human body over a lifetime.
During a question-and-answer session, students asked, “Will (the atomic bomb) affect future generations?” and “Is there still radiation in Nagasaki?”
Many students raised their hands to ask questions even after the allotted time had passed.
Henry Miel, 11, who listened to the discussion, said “All I knew (about the atomic bomb) is that it was really dangerous and Albert Einstein helped create it.”
He said that he was “really surprised” by the survivors’ stories and felt a “terrible loss.”
Thirteen-year-old Lydia Crowley said, “I think that it's really terrible that nuclear weapons still exist around the world. And I don't think they should ever be used.”
Mitamura’s face showed fulfillment and relief.
“It was worth coming this far,” she said. “I felt that they really understood how the atomic bombing affects people.”
Tomonaga, who came up with the idea for the tour, considered the first day a success.
Some of the participants noted that the reactions might vary by region and school, saying, “We need to be creative in how we convey our message.”
The tour is scheduled to visit mainly junior high schools, high schools and universities in Raleigh, Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon, for the hibakusha to talk with students and engage in discussions with citizens.
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
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A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
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Shizuko Mitamura, an atomic bomb survivor, is asked to shake hands with a junior high school student who said, “Thank you for coming,” after her talk in Durham, North Carolina, on Nov. 8. (Tetsuro Takehana)
