Imperial Couple and Princess Aiko Meet Hibakusha Atomic Bomb Survivors in Nagasaki

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:29 JST, September 13, 2025

NAGASAKI — The Emperor, Empress and their daughter Princess Aiko met with hibakusha atomic bomb survivors at a nursing care facility in Nagasaki on Saturday during their visit to Nagasaki Prefecture.

Upon their arrival at the facility at about 10:30 a.m., the Imperial family met with residents in their 80s and 90s in the facility’s hall. They bent over to make eye contact with the seated residents and listened attentively to them.

The previous day, the Imperial couple and Princess Aiko visited the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum in the city after paying tribute to the war dead at the Nagasaki Peace Park. They looked at exhibits conveying the reality of the atomic bombing and then met with four elderly hibakusha.

Kikuyo Nakamura, 101, was exposed to the atomic bomb 5.8 kilometers from the hypocenter in Kosedo, Nagasaki City, when she was 21 years old. “I evacuated holding my newborn son. All my relatives died,” she told the Imperial family.

The Imperial couple and Princess Aiko bent down before Nakamura, who was seated in a wheelchair, and the Empress said, “You must have gone through an extremely painful experience.”

Nakamura, who was involved in establishing a community group for hibakusha in Nagasaki Prefecture, tearfully asked the Imperial family, “Please cooperate in any way you can for peace.” In response, the Emperor said, “Yes.”

The Emperor and Empress released comments through an aide on Friday night regarding the first day of their visit during which they spoke to hibakusha and those, including students, engaged in activities to pass on the memories of the war.

“As the generation that experienced the bombing has decreased, it is greatly meaningful that stories of the hardships endured by the survivors are being shared and passed on to the next generation.”

Regarding Princess Aiko, they said, “She has felt once again the reality of the sufferings caused by the atomic bomb and deeply engraved in her heart the strong desire for peace held by the Nagasaki people who have overcome such hardships.”