PORTLAND, Oregon--Atomic bomb survivors sometimes met with indifference when they recounted their experiences during a two-week tour in the United States but recalibrated their approach to better connect with Americans.

“Miwa, open your eyes.”

The auditorium of a public high school outside Raleigh, North Carolina, was filled with the trembling voice of Shizuko Mitamura, an atomic bomb survivor from Nagasaki.

While recounting her experience of the atomic bomb in August 1945, the 81-year-old recalled the day she lost her daughter to cancer in 2010.

Mitamura, who was 3 when the atomic bomb was dropped, lost her older sister, who was also exposed to the bomb, to cancer. Mitamura herself has suffered from cancer four times.

She is still struggling with the thought that her daughter may have been affected by atomic radiation as well.

However, many students in the auditorium were stretching gum out of their mouths, fiddling with cellphones or chatting and laughing while she spoke.

Three hibakusha in their 80s from Nagasaki and seven second-and third-generation atomic bomb survivors went on a tour across the United States this month to share their experiences with American citizens.

They traveled from east to west, visiting Raleigh, Chicago and Portland and holding 20 gatherings.

The idea came from Masao Tomonaga, 80, an atomic bomb survivor and doctor.

He has devoted his life to leukemia research and has addressed diplomats and other officials at numerous international conferences, calling for nuclear abolition.

However, with nuclear disarmament stagnating on the international stage, he felt that he had no choice but to appeal directly to citizens to get their governments to act.

At a private school they visited on the first day, about 150 attendees, mainly students, listened intently and stood up to applaud after the speeches.

However, at the public high school in North Carolina they visited on the second day, they felt that their words were not reaching the students.

Janet Smith, a history teacher at the school, said personal stories of atomic bomb survivors are rarely told in the United States.

“(In classroom) it’s very often presented from the American point of view (that) we had to drop the atomic bombs (to end the war),” said Smith, 54.

As students continued to fiddle with their cellphones even as a teacher encouraged them to ask questions, Mitamura looked anxious and repeatedly rubbed her hands, which were folded together under the desk.

Mitamura had participated in the tour thinking this might be her last trip to the United States.

Every time she gives a speech, she recalls the scene of her daughter’s death and feels bitter.

Even so, she has continued to take the stage, thinking, “I want to convey to children the horrors of radiation.”

After the gathering, the participants discussed how they can better convey their feelings to Americans.

One said, “I think it is important to listen to what they think, not just tell them.” Another said, “Many people do not know who atomic bomb survivors are.”

Speakers started asking questions before speeches, such as, “Do you know about hibakusha?” and “Do you know about Nagasaki?”

They also added explanations.

The form of speeches gradually changed.

FINDING OUT ‘TRUE FEELINGS’

The atomic bomb survivors and the other participants were nervous before departing from Japan.

They had heard that in the United States, which dropped atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there is a strong belief that the use of the nuclear weapons was justified.

Tomonaga was prepared for some opposition from Americans, who might cite atrocities committed by the imperial Japanese military and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

However, as hibakusha gave speeches at junior and senior high schools and universities, students at many of the gatherings listened attentively and some even wiped away tears.

“I never knew that the effects of radiation were still ongoing,” one student said.

Another student expressed fears about the use of nuclear weapons, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.

While the participants felt a positive response, some gatherings generated no reaction.

Tomonaga felt that the hibakusha might not have been able to hear audiences' “true feelings.”

He deliberately took a provocative approach during a speech at a private university in Portland that was held in the final stage of the tour.

Tomonaga said he was exposed to the atomic bombing when he was 2 and that the effects of the radiation have continued throughout his life.

“It was the United States that developed nuclear weapons. The country therefore has a responsibility to end the nuclear age,” he said. “Let us hear what you have to say.”

May Hart, a 22-year-old student, raised her hand, saying, “This might be a little controversial.

“What is America without a strong military?” she asked. “If America were to give up nuclear warfare, I feel like America wouldn’t know what to do with itself in the global perspective.”

Skylar Mercer, 23, responded, “A mindset change needs to happen, and (we need) to stop seeing the United States as separate from the rest of the world.

“I think we need to lead the way because if we don’t get rid of our nuclear weapons, nobody else (will).”

Hart said strong military power, including the possession of atomic weapons, has made the United States what it is today and that is why it is so difficult for the country to give up its nuclear arms.

Still, listening to the hibakusha’s stories brought about a change in her beliefs.

Hart said she felt fear that nuclear weapons might be used as conflicts continue in the world and that people must continue talking about damage caused by nuclear weapons to eliminate them.

“I’ll definitely tell my parents about this,” she said.

Listening to her comments, Tomonaga showed a sense of relief and accomplishment on his face.

“We have been able to have a dialogue with citizens,” he said. “I realized that many young people in the United States want nuclear abolition.”

Kenneth Ruoff, a professor of modern Japanese history at Portland State University, who listened to the hibakusha speak, said it is notable that students had the chance to hear from atomic bomb survivors in the midst of the military conflict in Gaza.

He said young Americans are having to think about whether Israel’s war in Gaza is justified and what sort of things are morally acceptable during war.

“This raises somewhat similar questions to the morality of dropping the atomic bombs. The context makes (young Americans) especially open to thinking about issues related to the atomic bombings,” Ruoff said.

“(Through the tour of sharing their experiences), maybe in the long run, future generations can have more success in this area than likely will take place anytime soon,” he said.

Every time he gave a speech toward the end of the tour, Tomonaga introduced Yukino Yamaguchi, a third-generation atomic bomb survivor, and emphasized the need for the younger generation in Japan and the United States to connect.

Yamaguchi, 21, felt anew the power of hibakusha’s words and their unwavering will by participating in the tour.

“I felt as if a baton was being passed down to us,” she said. “It is difficult to pass on hibakusha’s experiences as they are, but I realized that our perspectives are also important in expanding our activities.”

During the tour, Yamaguchi exchanged contact information with young people who were interested in their activities.

“We would like to create a mechanism for young people to get involved in peace activities and continue to create opportunities to think about nuclear abolition,” she said.

(This article was written by Emika Terashima and Takashi Ogawa.)