Number of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors falls below 100,000
According to the ministry, the number of hibakusha with victim certificates stood at 99,130 as of the end of March, down by 7,695 from a year before. Their age averaged 86.13, up from 85.58.
The latest total included 35,730 in the western city of Hiroshima and 17,154 in the southwestern city of Nagasaki. Hiroshima was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, in the closing days of World War II. Nagasaki suffered the same fate three days later.
By prefecture, Tokyo had 3,307 hibakusha as of March 31 this year, and Fukuoka had 3,957.
Since the issuance of victim certificates starting in 1957, the ministry has been announcing the number of living hibakusha as of the end of March every year.
The number started to fall after peaking at 372,264 in 1981, and slipped below 300,000 in 2000 and below 200,000 in 2014. People holding the certificate can receive health insurance-covered medical treatment without out-of-pocket costs.
This year, the ministry is collecting testimonies from all living hibakusha to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings. It is the first time in 30 years to seek testimonies related to the nuclear attacks from all survivors.
Passing the memories of the devastation caused by the atomic bombings on to future generations "is becoming all the more important because hibakusha are getting older and older," a ministry official said. "We aim to gather testimonies from as many hibakusha as possible."
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