Yuriko Hayashi

This year marks the 80th anniversary since the atomic bomb was dropped.  When World War II ended, I was convinced that such a weapon, capable of inflicting such immense destruction, would never be used again.  I believed humanity was not foolish enough to use an atomic bomb again, which caused such unimaginable tragedy.  Yet, even now, there are many countries in the world that possess nuclear weapons.  I hear that 12,000 nuclear warheads are stockpiled worldwide, with 4,000 of them deployed and ready for immediate use.

In 2024, the average age of hibakusha exceeded 86.  As they age and their numbers decrease, Hiroshima City is now focusing its efforts on passing on the legacy of the bombing.  The City is undertaking projects to train successors who can faithfully convey hibakushas’ experiences.  I do not belong to any hibakusha organization, nor am I registered as a hibakusha witness for Hiroshima City.  However, since around age 60, I have personally given testimony several times a year when asked.  Surprisingly, I heard that if a successor includes words calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons in their manuscript, they get deleted by Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum office.  They say the only thing they are allowed to talk about is the atomic bomb experience of the hibakusha they are assigned to convey.

Of course, hearing the stories of hibakusha who endured such horrific experiences and passing those stories on is incredibly important for conveying what would happen if nuclear weapons were used again.  However, I feel a lingering unease about whether simply sharing these experiences and passing them down is truly enough.  Will talking about them and passing them on eliminate the nuclear weapons currently proliferating worldwide?  Hibakusha have shared their painful experiences at every opportunity.  But has that eliminated nuclear weapons?

Japan claims to be the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings, yet it still hasn’t even ratified the Treaty on the Non-Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Furthermore, nuclear-armed states worldwide believe in the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, that possessing nuclear weapons guarantees their own security.  I believe “nuclear deterrence” is a threat that essentially says, “Since we have them, we can use them immediately.”  Can peace truly come just by threatening others?

As a survivor, while sharing my experience, I want to say out loud that there is no justification for possessing nuclear weapons, and that if used again, humanity will be destroyed, and the Earth will be devastated.  I want the young people who hear this to consider it as something that concerns them personally.  Possessing nuclear weapons means destroying your future.  For nuclear weapons, there is no deterrence, only abolition.