Hibakusha renews call for nuclear abolition, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220425_01/
Concerns about the possibility of nuclear warfare are growing as Russia's invasion of Ukraine drags on.
A Japanese hibakusha, an atomic bomb survivor, shared her experiences in a virtual event organized by a group of university students in Tokyo on Sunday.
Wada Masako was one year old when an atomic bomb was detonated by the US Army over Nagasaki in 1945.
She was too young to remember that day, but her mother often told her what it was like to walk through the city in the bombing's aftermath.
Wada said, "my mother told me people were stumbling around, their hair caked with blood. She said their clothes were in tatters, and one couldn't tell whether they were men or women."
She has been involved in the nuclear abolition movement for much of her life. She participated in rallies in New York City to support the adoption of the UN nuclear ban treaty.
Wada says she was shocked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin's recent threats to use nuclear weapons.
She said, "I'm worried there may soon be new hibakusha. I want everyone to know that what we have right now is a crisis. I want to tell them what happens when nuclear weapons are used."
Wada said she hopes for real progress toward abolition at the first meeting of the parties to the nuclear ban treaty this June. She believes the advocacy of young people from Japan and around the world will only strengthen the movement.
She also urged the Japanese government to participate in the conference, and take an active role in the abolition movement. Japan has refused to join the ban treaty as it is under the US nuclear umbrella.
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