97-year-old Nagasaki A-bomb survivor makes peace plea to int'l diplomats

NAGASAKI -- One recent day, 97-year-old Nagasaki hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) Shohei Tsuiki walked in front of diplomats from 25 countries including Pakistan and Iraq plus United Nations officials at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum to make his plea in English: If we abolish nuclear weapons worldwide, no one will have to suffer. For the sake of a peaceful world without nuclear arms, please do not forget the words of this old man.

At the age of 18, while a second-year student at Nagasaki Normal School, Tsuiki was at a dormitory after being mobilized when he was exposed to the atomic bomb explosion about 1.8 kilometers from the hypocenter. He suffered burns to his left wrist and left leg, and his body was covered in bleeding cuts from glass shards. After the war, he became a junior high school teacher, and from his 50s, he began sharing his experiences as a survivor. However, he felt he needed to reach an international audience, so at age 90, he resumed studying English.

Recalling the aftermath, Tsuiki described scenes such as a young mother holding her dead baby, and victims of the atomic bombing who were in human shape, but soaked in blood or blackened by burns, looking like zombies. He said it was like hell.

He also showed a photograph of Sumiteru Taniguchi, who was burned across his entire back from exposure about 1.8 kilometers from the hypocenter, just as Tsuiki had been. Taniguchi passed away in 2017 at the age of 88.

The diplomats visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the U.N. Disarmament Fellowship Program, which trains disarmament experts in developing countries. Participants asked questions including whether Tsuiki knew about the Hiroshima bombing at the time, and what he wanted to pass on to children and young people.

Tsuiki concluded passionately that he wanted the reality of the atomic bombing to be known more and more around the world. Furthermore, he believes that as people globally become aware, we can all move toward a complete ban on nuclear weapons.

(Japanese original by Arina Ogata, Nagasaki Bureau)