Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors Group Updates Exhibition for 70th Anniv.

Nagasaki, Aug. 18 (Jiji Press)–The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council has renewed a public exhibition at its office in the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki as the group marked the 70th anniversary of its formation in June. While the display features materials documenting the group’s long campaign for nuclear abolition and expanded support for survivors, few records from the organization’s early days remain. Experts warn that documents must be collected as soon as possible and that a system must be established to prevent them from being lost. The council was established in June 1956 at the urging of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, in the closing days of World War II. The founding members included the late Senji Yamaguchi, who was the first atomic bomb survivor to testify before the United Nations about his experiences. As a member organization of Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, the council has consistently advocated for support for atomic bomb survivors and for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Nihon Hidankyo is Japan’s only nationwide organization of hibakusha, or survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Nagasaki and the western Japan city of Hiroshima, which experienced the bombing three days before Nagasaki’s devastation. It won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024. In June, the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council renovated an exhibition in the basement hall of its office, displaying about 150 items. The collection includes so-called Mary dolls, nun-shaped figures that survivors sold through the council’s defunct shop to help make a living, as well as sweaters knitted by the late Chieko Watanabe, who was left paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the bombing. As part of the renewal effort, the organization appealed for historical materials to be donated, and some newly contributed items were added to the exhibit. However, Katsuya Kinaga, a visiting researcher at the Nagasaki Institute of Applied Science who studies the activities of atomic bomb survivor organizations in Nagasaki, said that the available materials are quite limited. “Some items have survived only by chance due to various circumstances,” he added. According to Kinaga, documents from the organization’s founding period are particularly scarce, including the original notice that called for the group’s establishment. “In the early days, we were committed to the movement itself and did not think about preserving materials for future generations,” said Teruko Yokoyama, 85, vice chair of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, who has been involved in the group’s activities for more than half a century. Local governments in Nagasaki Prefecture, including the capital city of Nagasaki, which oversees the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, lack a systematic framework for collecting and preserving records related to the activities of survivor organizations. The city said that it collects materials that directly document the damage caused by the atomic bombing, such as bomb-related artifacts and survivor testimonies. Materials related to advocacy and social movements by survivor groups are not included in its collection. City officials acknowledged that the issue of who should carry on the legacy of the survivors’ activism “may be entering a phase that calls for renewed consideration.” Membership in the council has fallen from more than 10,000 at its peak to about 1,500 today, weakening the organization’s capacity to collect historical records. Kinaga warned that if such documents disappear, it may become impossible to verify historical facts or understand the many issues surrounding atomic bomb survivors. “Facts could be fabricated, possibly leaving behind only mistaken perceptions of hibakusha,” he said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]