Nihon Hidankyo’s Nobel Prize: Voices for Peace / Youngest A-Bomb Victims Were Unborn Babies In 1945; One Of Them To Share Story At Nobel Ceremony In Oslo

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:17 JST, December 7, 2024

This is the second installment in a series of interviews with members of the delegation of Nihon Hidankyo [Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations] who will attend the award ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Dec. 10.

***

Interview with Hideto Matsuura

Nihon Hidankyo Executive Board Member

I was exposed to the atomic bomb while in my mother’s womb. I have been giving testimony as the “youngest A-bomb survivor.” I believe that those who were exposed to the atomic bomb while in their mother’s wombs, called “tainai hibakusha,” should be the last victims of nuclear weapons. I would like to say so to the world in Oslo [where the award ceremony will be held].

On Aug. 6, 1945, my mother, who was seven months pregnant, was exposed to the atomic bomb at her home in Minamikanonmachi [now Nishi Ward], Hiroshima, about 3 kilometers from the hypocenter. It took her several days to reach her parents’ home in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, where she gave birth to me in November.

She never talked about the atomic bombing. I was rarely aware that I was an A-bomb survivor as I grew up in Ehime. Following advice from an acquaintance of my mother, I obtained an Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate at the age of 31 and began activities at Nihon Hidankyo.

I was initially devoted to clerical work, believing that I was unqualified to testify because I did not know firsthand about that horrific situation. Even though I was legally an A-bomb survivor, I had no direct experience of the bombing. I felt like I was on the mezzanine floor.

The turning point came about 20 years ago. As part of my activities, I interviewed my mother for the first time about her experience of the atomic bombing. She told me that she had been hit by a flash of light and fainted and that when she awoke she found pieces of glass stuck in all over her body and that [later she saw] many people lying on top of each other under the Aioi Bridge, which was the target of the atomic bombing. I felt that I could convey the tragedy through the scenes my mother saw and by expressing it in my own words.

I was anxious when I got married, and I was anxious when my wife gave birth. A-bomb survivors cannot honestly rejoice in things that should have made them happy and joyful. I wanted people to know the seriousness of such nuclear damage. That is why I began to give my testimony.

Now we fear nuclear weapons can be used again in some parts of the world. So my joy at [Hidankyo] being selected for the Nobel Peace Prize is “moderate.” I would like to continue to think about the meaning of the prize, while rejoicing that the past activities of A-bomb survivors have been highlighted.

— Interviewed by Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Naoya Seo