Photo/Illutration The iconic Peace Statue in Nagasaki’s Peace Park stands as a beacon of hope on the 79th anniversary of the city’s Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Eighty years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the number of officially recognized survivors has fallen below 100,000 for the first time, the health ministry announced on July 1.

As of the end of March, there were 99,130 people with hibakusha certificates, 7,695 fewer than in the previous year.

The average age of survivors has now reached 86.13, rising by 0.55 year compared to the average a year before.

The hibakusha certificate provides free medical care and regular health checkups.

The survivor certificate system was introduced in 1957, 12 years after the U.S. nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. About 200,000 certificates were issued in the first year.

As the definition of a survivor expanded and government support increased, the number of certificate holders rose steadily, peaking at 372,264 in 1981.

Since then, the number has gradually declined as aging survivors passed away, falling below 300,000 in 2000 and under 200,000 in 2014.

As a result, the number of survivors who can share firsthand accounts of the catastrophes continues to shrink.

Many of those now active in hibakusha advocacy were either infants or unborn at the time of the bombings, whose memories of the event are secondhand or absent altogether.

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