Nihon Hidankyo’s Nobel Prize: Voices for Peace / Hidankyo Consultant Faces A-Bomb Survivors’ Hardships for 50 Years; She Will Carry Thoughts of Many to Oslo Award Ceremony

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, December 8, 2024

This is the third 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.

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Interview with Reiko Hara

Nihon Hidankyo consultant

Half a century has passed since I, a native of Kagawa Prefecture and not an A-bomb survivor, first became involved with A-bomb survivors.

I began working as a caseworker at a hospital in Tokyo in 1967. I was 22 and ignorant. When I saw photos of their burns, I turned my eyes away before I knew it.

“You can always escape, but a hibakusha cannot escape being a hibakusha,” a doctor told me. I decided to face the reality ever since.

After meeting more than 1,000 A-bomb survivors, there are some I cannot forget. One woman told me emotionlessly that she would probably have been a happy ordinary person if she had not become a hibakusha. Another woman who was exposed to both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-bombs suffered seven miscarriages and stillbirths. Their faces still appear in my mind. I want to remember that the people whom I listened to were alive.

In 2016, I became a consultant for Nihon Hidankyo, hoping to put my knowledge to use as much as possible. I consult with A-bomb survivors about their daily lives once a week by phone or in person at a Nihon Hidankyo office.

Their questions are mainly about nursing care and pensions. Some people just want someone to listen to their concerns about how they will spend their final days. Listening to such concerns is also part of my job.

Hibakusha had their lives shattered by the atomic bombings. Nevertheless, they have continually raised their voices, saying such things as “No more nuclear weapons” and “No more wars.” Reflecting on Nihon Hidankyo winning the Nobel Peace Prize, I felt that even though a lot of people died, their feelings are being kept alive.

I would like to attend the award ceremony in Oslo carrying the thoughts of many A-bomb survivors.

— Interviewed by Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Kaho Yamashita