Terumi Tanaka is co-chair of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organisations, also known as Nihon Hidankyo, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. The Nobel Foundation recognised Hidankyo “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again”.
Mr Tanaka (93) was 13 years old when the US dropped the Fat Man bomb on his native Nagasaki 80 years ago this week. His home, 3.2km from the hypocentre, was destroyed and his grandfather and other members of his family were killed. Among the charred bodies he found after the bomb detonated was his aunt who he cremated on a makeshift pyre. “I remembered my kind aunt and broke down crying,” he recalled.
He gave this interview to The Irish Times just before he left to attend the annual commemorative ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki this week.
Ahead of the Japanese House of Councillors election on July 20th, a number of politicians said Japan should enter the nuclear arms race, and one of them (Saya) was elected in Tokyo. Were you shocked by her comments?
They were outrageous. Until very recently, it was unthinkable for Japanese politicians to say such things at all. But in recent years, since Russia made its threat against Ukraine, the bar has been lowered. The taboo on using the weapons has been weakened. As representatives of a country that was a victim of these weapons, for a politician to make such a statement is not just deeply regrettable, it’s unacceptable.
In 2022, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe also said that Japan should consider a Nato-style arrangement to share nuclear weapons and not avoid a discussion on security realities because of the nuclear taboo. What was your reaction?
As survivors of these weapons, we all agree that they can never be used again. So, when we hear politicians saying such things, it is terrifying. Rather than objectively explain the facts, politicians give the impression that we are surrounded by nuclear-armed threats (North Korea, China and Russia). And that’s where the mistake lies.
You met current prime minister Shigeru Ishiba last year, after the Nobel Prize was awarded. The meeting was mostly closed. What did he say?
He said that he’d been to Hiroshima and seen photos of the victims. He said they are a terrifying weapon and they should be abolished. But he also said we can’t ignore reality and we have to think about what happens if we are attacked. I said that’s wrong. If the weapons are used, or if we even consider using them, we all lose.
You were in Hiroshima in 2016 when then US president Barack Obama made his historic visit to the city. You initially praised his speech but later changed your mind. Why?
We didn’t have a chance to read the speech but the following morning I saw a translation in the newspaper and it began with the statement: “Seventy-one years ago, on a bright cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed”.
This was a totally unacceptable use of words. Death did not “fall from the sky”. The Americans dropped the bombs. They created the world we are living in. I was also disappointed that he said “we may not realise this goal [of a world without nuclear weapons] in my lifetime”. He should have pledged to abolish them – that would have been a suitable apology for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Obama was also awarded a Nobel Peace Prize but it was early in his presidency and I wonder did he really deserve it.
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Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Iran is reportedly developing a nuclear bomb. America is modernising its stock. Are we moving further away from your goal?
Yes, it seems that way. That is why we have to focus on the inhumanity and immorality of nuclear weapons. We must persuade people across the world that we cannot use them. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the starting points of this effort.
Can small countries like Ireland play a role?
I was disappointed that Finland and Sweden have abandoned their long-standing neutrality [in 2023 and 2024] and became members of Nato. Of course, I understand that Russia’s behaviour is extremely problematic but membership means being directly dependent on nuclear weapons. Small countries like Ireland have a role to play in the fight against these weapons because they can be persuasive.
