News that broke 2 years ago spurs 83-year-old to tell 'reality' of Hiroshima A-bombing
TAKAMATSU -- An 83-year-old man in west Japan has begun speaking publicly about his memory of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima after decades of silence
In 1945, an 83-year-old man named Takashi Nakamura from Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, decided to share his memories of the atomic bombing after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a survivors' group in 2024. Nakamura lost his home during the July 1945 air raid on Takamatsu and was exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima about a month later.
He has no memory of that time but later learned from his older sister that he was carried by his mother as they fled with his second-eldest sister and seventh-oldest brother. The family lived in Hiroshima after the war and Nakamura obtained an Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificate in 1967. Despite being aware of his status, he did not disclose it to his colleagues.
When he started attending arranged marriage meetings at age 25, he was rejected by some potential partners due to his radiation exposure. He eventually married a woman who did not care. In 2022, Nakamura joined the Kagawa Prefecture atomic bomb victims association, but still felt that he "would be happier not to say I am a survivor."
In October 2024, the news of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations inspired Nakamura to share his wartime experiences. He spoke about his experiences at a symposium in Takamatsu, emphasizing the importance of conveying the reality of the atomic bombing to help work towards nuclear abolition.
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