80 years on, Japan's government seeks testimonies from all hibakusha
It is the first time in 30 years that the government has sought cooperation from all hibakusha over testimonies. A ministry official expressed hopes for "receiving as many testimonies as possible amid the aging" of those who survived the atomic bombings of the two cities in August 1945 in the closing days of World War II.
A leaflet seeking testimonies is being sent to survivors with hibakusha certificates across Japan by mail through prefectural governments. The ministry is also collecting portraits of deceased hibakusha, clothing exposed to the atomic bombs and photographs taken around the time of the bombings.
Collected items will be stored at the national peace memorial halls for atomic bomb victims, located in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Among them, those for which consent is given from owners will be displayed to the public.
A leaflet seeking testimonies being sent to survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings with hibakusha certificates |
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare / via Jiji
Efforts to gather testimonies began in 1995, when the ministry asked for cooperation from all of the roughly 320,000 hibakusha who were alive at the time. After that, testimonies were solicited from some randomly selected survivors in 2005 and 2015.
A total of around 100,000 people have so far submitted their testimonies, which have been made into books for display at the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims and the Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims.
The aging of many hibakusha prompted the ministry to seek testimonies from all surviving victims again this time. The number of certified hibakusha has been on the decline since peaking at 372,264 at the end of March 1981.
The figure stood at 106,825 at the end of March 2024, with the average age at 85.58. The number of hibakusha may fall below 100,000 by the next update in June.
"We decided to cover all hibakusha this time as we aim to convey the reality of the atomic bombings," a ministry official said, adding that solicitations for testimonies will continue next year and beyond.
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