NHK NEWSLINE special Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony - 80 years on -
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Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
People work to pass on stories of U.S. 'mock atomic bombs' dropped on Japan in WWII
People in Fukushima Prefecture and other parts of Japan are working to pass down the stories of "pumpkin" bombs the United States dropped on 18 prefectures in the country. They are also known as being mock-ups of the atomic bombs that devastated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Over 400 people were killed by 49 such "mock atomic bombs" dropped between July 20 and Aug. 14, 1945, mostly as a way to rehearse the atomic bombs used against Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki three days later in the final stages of World War II. The rehearsed conventional weapons are similar in appearance to the atomic bombs. The pumpkin bomb — so named also because of their shape — attacks were long a secret and therefore are relatively unknown. Eighty years since the bombings, work is underway to keep survivors' memories alive, with studies being conducted in many areas in Japan. On July 20, 1945, the first of the U.S. pumpkin bombs was dropped on Fukushima Prefecture, killing Takao Saito, a 14-year-old boy. His older sister, Michi, now 98, said that she still remembers the sheer power of the explosion. "My mother and I who were nearby were blown away (in the blast)." Takao was killed after he took over Michi's weeding chores in a rice field due to rain. "He was such a sweet and curious boy, and the way he died was heartbreaking," she said. On July 26, another mock atomic bomb was dropped on what is currently known as the Taira First Elementary School in the Fukushima city of Iwaki, leaving three teachers dead. The school holds a memorial ceremony for them every year. Michi Saito talks about her brother, who was killed by a U.S. "mock atomic bomb," during an interview in the city of Fukushima in July. | Jiji Tsuneo Matsumoto, 92, a student of the school at the time, said he escaped the attack because the school's principal, one of the three victims, had decided on an emergency school closure. Matsumoto has offered special classes on the bombing for students of the school. "I was surprised to learn, many years later, that the bombing was a practice run for the atomic bombings," he said. "I think many people have passed away without knowing that." Pumpkin bombs first became known publicly in 1991 after a civic group in the city of Kasugai in Aichi Prefecture looked through materials from the U.S. military. Since then, studies on the bombs have been continuing, mainly led by citizens. In 2023, a group led by Yozo Kudo, 75, a former kōsen technical school teacher who has spent many years researching the pumpkin bombs, conducted a survey in several locations, including the city of Kobe, where the exact location of the bombing remains unknown. The group successfully recovered fragments of a pumpkin bomb in the city of Arida in Wakayama Prefecture in February 2024. Two months later, Kudo and his colleagues set up a group to study the pumpkin bombs. It is currently analyzing the recovered bomb fragments. "It is groundbreaking that people have started to recognize the pumpkin bombs as a grave issue that led to (the atomic bombings of) Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Kudo said. "I hope to shed light on this buried history."
NHK
3 hours ago
- NHK
US city linked to atomic bomb development remembers Hiroshima 80 years on
People in a southern US city that was home to facilities linked to the development of the atomic bomb prayed for peace on the 80th anniversary of the attack on Hiroshima. Oak Ridge in Tennessee was the location for several Manhattan Project facilities, including those for uranium enrichment. A memorial ceremony began at dawn on Wednesday. Lanterns inscribed with messages of peace written by local children were placed around the International Friendship Bell, which was cast in Kyoto and installed in a park. Local residents took turns ringing the bell 80 times. One woman who attended the event said, "Listening to it, I'm hearing the desire for peace and the sorrow" for the lives lost. She said "never forget this, and never repeat this," but ''I don't think we are ever going to be rid of'' nuclear weapons. Another woman described the heightened risk of nuclear weapons use as "terribly scary." She said, "Can't we all just get along?" The nuclear industry remains the main source of employment in Oak Ridge. The US Department of Energy says the city has the country's only facility supplying enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.
NHK
5 hours ago
- NHK
Nagasaki survivor recalls love cut short
A memoir by woman who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki recounts how the experience led to pain and heartbreak.
