On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima, Japan, instantly killing tens of thousands of people and unleashing suffering that has lasted for generations after World War II ended. Survivors, known in Japanese as hibakusha, recall how the sunny morning turned into devastation. “Flash! Boom! It was an extremely loud blast,” said Michiko Hattori, who was 16 years old at the time. Many of those who survived were left with disfiguring injuries, radiation sickness and severe social stigma.
The bomb’s long-term effects were not acknowledged by the authorities for years. Hibakusha like Masako Wada later became activists, helping to build a worldwide movement. “We still have two major demands,” she said. “One is the abolition of nuclear weapons, and the other is national compensation.”
The risks of nuclear conflict remain high, with more than 12,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled globally, some many times more powerful than the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the hibakusha age, preserving their memories has taken on new urgency. “There may come a day when no one is left to tell the stories,” Wada said.
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