The Truth About Whistleblowers-Surviving Burdens and Conflicts-February 2, 16:39

"Maybe I did it as a mission from the burden that I survived."

This is the word of the bereaved family of a certain "whistleblower".

That person is Mikiko Yamauchi.

Last year, he died at the age of 89.

Mr. Yamauchi who was exposed to the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and experienced the "annihilation" of his classmates.

We have released data from research institutes that there are multiple "Atomic Bomb Microcephaly" who were born with small heads and heights and have intellectual disabilities among the "hibakusha" who were exposed to the atomic bomb in their mother's stomach. did.

Now that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has come into effect, we will approach the scars that remain deep even 75 years after the bombing and the truth of the whistleblower.

(Hiroshima Broadcasting Station reporter Ryosuke Sasaki)

Finally came into effect Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty

January 22nd, when the Treaty on the Suspension of Nuclear Weapons, which prohibits the possession and development of nuclear weapons, came into effect.

A "Mushroom Association" made up of people with atomic bomb microcephaly and their families held a press conference.

Yoshio Nagaoka, chairman of the Atomic Bomb Microcephaly, quietly rejoiced at the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and complained.

Chairman Yoshio Nagaoka

"We fully welcome the entry into force of the treaty. It will hurt even the small lives in our stomachs. Such weapons cannot protect peace."

It was a gentle and gentle tone, but it was a word that stuck in my chest.

The petite woman sitting next to Chairman Nagaoka is also a survivor of the atomic bomb microcephaly.

Hiroe Kawashita, 74 years old.

On August 6, 1945, I was exposed to the bomb in the stomach of my mother, Kaneko, who was two months pregnant.

Mr. Kawashita, who has intellectual disabilities, says that although he can communicate, it is difficult to understand when it comes to calculations and complicated sentences.

At the conference, many reporters sat in front of them and their cameras were pointed at.

I (reporter) asked Mr. Kawashita, who was nervous, "Today, nuclear weapons are banned in the countries of the world. How did you feel about it?"

Mr. Kawashita thought a little and was urged by Chairman Nagaoka of the "Mushroom Association" to answer as follows.

(Mr. Kawashita) "I don't know what is difficult"

(Chairman Nagaoka) "Isn't it a pleasure?"

(Mr. Kawashita) "That's

right

."

"Atomic Bomb Microcephaly" The Road to Hardship

Mr. Kawashita has been ill since he was a child and has been repeatedly hospitalized and discharged.

I graduated from elementary school at the age of 15, and graduated from junior high school at the age of 20.

At that time, Mr. Kawashita, who was not widely known about A-bomb microcephaly and had a disability, was exposed to heartfelt words at school and in the community and had a hard time.

Hiroe Kawashita

"I wish I hadn't had this kind of illness and was a normal person. There were times when I thought it was painful. I wonder why I'm so bad."

Mr. Kawashita's father died shortly after the bombing, and his mother, Kaneko, raised Mr. Kawashita and his brother alone.

Kaneko sometimes sternly contacted Mr. Kawashita and made him learn handicrafts such as sewing.

It was her mother's affection that Mr. Kawashita, who would one day be alone, could live independently.

When NHK interviewed Mr. Kawashita's parents and children 30 years ago, Mr. Kaneko said:

Mother Kaneko

"If I were alone, I would think that child would be in trouble if I had to live long even for a day."

Her mother died seven years ago, and now Kawashita is living alone.

When I visited the apartment where I lived, I found mufflers and paintings knitted by Mr. Kawashita lined up in a row.

Mr. Kawashita says that he is very happy when he knits and draws pictures.

The handicrafts that my mother has rigorously learned are now leading to Mr. Kawashita's purpose in life.

Mr. Kawashita seems to live calmly, but without the help of those around him, he will not be able to live.

He has been certified as an A-bomb survivor and is currently receiving medical expenses such as living expenses from the government, but it is difficult to understand the documents sent to him and complete the procedure by himself.

Seventy-five years have passed since the bombing, and many of the families have died.

The Mushroom Association, which is made up of family members and volunteers, supports people with A-bomb microcephaly who have difficulty living alone, such as Mr. Kawashita.

Yurie Kawamiya, a medical social worker, has been visiting Mr. Kawashita regularly for eight years to support his life.

Yurie Kawamiya

"I feel like I'm finally living with the support of the people around me. I wouldn't have lived that way without the atomic bomb. I wouldn't have been ill. The atomic bomb shouldn't have happened. I think we, who are living now, must appeal to lose. "

Not recognized as "atomic bomb disease" for many years

People with microcephaly of the atomic bomb, such as Mr. Kawashita, were actually recognized as having "atomic bomb disease" in 1967, more than 20 years after the atomic bomb was dropped.

Until then, families had been told that the predisposition to intellectual disability and illness seen in children born after the bombing was not due to the effects of the atomic bomb, but to malnutrition.

One memo was the reason for the recognition of the atomic bomb disease.

Information for 16 people with microcephaly is recorded.

It is so-called "confidential information" that identifies an individual such as name and date of birth.

This information was stored by the ABCC = Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, an American research institute established in Hiroshima City after the war to investigate the effects of radiation on the human body.

ABCC conducted interviews with A-bomb survivors and conducted health surveys to investigate the effects of the atomic bomb dropped for the first time in human history.

However, it did not provide the treatment and support that the A-bomb survivors were looking for, and it was also an organization that was criticized as "I did not treat it even though I investigated it" and "I treat the A-bomb survivors as guinea pigs."

Approaching the truth of whistleblowers

It was Mikiko Yamauchi, who was working here at the time, who brought out the "confidential information" from this ABCC.

Mr. Yamauchi, who died last year at the age of 89, was also a hibakusha.

I was able to meet and hear from Mr. Izumi Haramori, the eldest daughter of Mr. Yamauchi, who lives in Hiroshima City.

August 76 years ago.

Mr. Yamauchi, who attended a high school for girls, was involved in "building evacuation" in the center of Hiroshima city every day.

Building evacuation is the work of demolishing the central building to prevent the spread of fire due to air raids, and many boys and girls were mobilized at that time.

Mr. Yamauchi's home was in what is now Etajima City, Hiroshima Prefecture.

I had to take a boat to evacuate the building, and I was planning to stay in Hiroshima City from August 5, the day before the atomic bomb was dropped.

However, on that day, I happened to return to my home in Etajima City, where I reached 8:15 on the 6th.

Hiroshima was a "hell" in the eyes of Mr. Yamauchi, who set foot in Hiroshima City.

Mr. Yamauchi's eldest daughter, Mr. Haramori, says, "My mother always said that the atomic bomb was not such a thing when I looked at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and other materials. It was an unimaginable hell."

Almost all of Mr. Yamauchi's classmates and junior students who were evacuating the building 1.2 km from the hypocenter died.

From the surviving burden

Mr. Yamauchi who survived the atomic bomb.

However, he also felt that he had survived.

It is said that the mother of a classmate who died in the atomic bomb asked Mr. Yamauchi, who lived in the dormitory after the bombing, one after another, "Do you know the whereabouts of your daughter?"

Izumi Mori

"I'm sorry I couldn't answer anything since then. For my classmate's mother, I wonder why my daughter was dead and you would survive. That's why. I think I've always been liable for

After studying English at university, Mr. Yamauchi got a job at ABCC.

At first, he visited the A-bomb survivors as an "investigator" and asked him where he was exposed and whether there were any changes in his body.

After that, he was working as a "scheduler" to coordinate the survey schedule.

It is said that the scheduler was in a position to be able to enter any researcher's room and browse materials.

In 1965, he was busy working by making the best use of the English he had acquired.

I get a consultation from an acquaintance saying, "Some of the people who were exposed to the atomic bomb in their mothers have intellectual disabilities and are having trouble with their lives, so please help me."

Upon request, Mr. Yamauchi searched for materials and secretly copied information such as the names, dates of birth, and addresses of people with Atomic Bomb Microcephaly in a memo.

At that time, such information was not made public, and it is said that people with atomic bomb microcephaly and their families were isolated.

The burden on the victims of the atomic bomb, the conflict of working at ABCC as the same survivor, and the resentment of ABCC not disclosing the data may have led to "whistle-blowing".

Mr. Haramori talks about his mother's complicated feelings.

Mr. Izumi Haramori

"I think I was frustrated that ABCC did not treat me even if I investigated it. Since my classmates were wiped out (by the atomic bomb), I was liable for the fact that I survived. I think there is something I can do about that kind of thing. It seems that I thought this was a mission given by heaven. "

Mr. Yamauchi gives the memo of "confidential information" to the reporter of the local broadcasting station one by one.

The reporter relies on the memo to visit the homes of each A-bomb microcephaly survivor.

People with microcephaly and their families who did not know each other's existence until then connected to form the "Mushroom Association".

When the parties gathered and appealed to the country, people with microcephaly were recognized as having atomic bombing.

It has been 22 years since the atomic bomb was dropped and the youngest survivor of the atomic bomb, microcephaly, was born.

It is said that the existence and complaints of people with atomic bomb microcephaly have been clarified, and the "search for the criminal" who made the "whistleblower" has begun.

Mr. Yamauchi later said, "I was scared to be followed at that time."

On the other hand, ABCC had a good idea that Mr. Yamauchi had whistle-blowered, but he also thought that he might have forgiven him.

Mr. Yamauchi says he didn't talk much about "whistle-blowing", but he occasionally talked about the time.

Izumi Mori

"(My mother made a whistleblower) I felt a little less guilty, and I think I was able to complete my mission. (People with microcephaly) Anyway, I was already isolated. I knew well that it would be really different just for each person to get together. "

In fact, Mr. Yamauchi and Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor living in Canada, were classmates at the university.

Mr. Thurlow, who appeals for the actual situation of the atomic bombing and the abolition of nuclear weapons in various places such as the United Nations, seems to have always respected Mr. Yamauchi from the bottom of his heart, saying, "That person is amazing."

At home, there was a cutout of a newspaper article about Mr. Thurlow.

Mr. Yamauchi will meet again when Mr. Thurlow gives a lecture at his mother school in Hiroshima in 2019.

It was eight months before he died.

Reality that does not change even after 75 years

Mr. Kawashita of Atomic Bomb Microcephaly.

I have my brain and thyroid examined every year and I am still fighting the fear of being exposed.

Even if the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into effect after 75 years, nuclear weapons will not disappear immediately, and Mr. Kawashimo's harsh reality will not change.

Hiroe Kawashita

"I really want the atomic bomb to disappear. Everyone is doing it in other countries, so I want them all to disappear. So I want the world to get along. I thought "

Every time I interviewed, I was filled with the straight words that Mr. Kawashita spoke.

Mr. Kawashita says that he usually does not have the opportunity to interact with many people, but he said he attended the press conference by saying "go" on the day the treaty came into effect.

I felt a strong desire and determination for Mr. Kawashita's peace.

This time, when I was interviewing about the atomic bomb microcephaly, I first consulted with Mr. Nagaoka, the chairman of the "Mushroom Association".

At that time, Chairman Nagaoka said, "I can't answer immediately because there were various misunderstandings in past media coverage and my intentions were not conveyed."

Mr. Nagaoka later said that he accepted my unstudied interview because he wanted me to know the existence and current situation of the A-bomb survivors suffering from "microcephaly of the atomic bomb". He revealed it.

Japan and nuclear-weapon states have not participated in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and some have questioned how effective it is.

From the interview with Mikiko Yamauchi, who made a whistleblower from the surviving burden, I realized that "even if each person's power is weak, it leads to a big swell."

Now, in the atomic bombed area of ​​Hiroshima, there is a movement to do what we can, such as the younger generation starting to send information on SNS in order to expand the treaty.

I would like to continue to convey the voice of Hiroshima toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.

<What is

Atomic Bomb Microcephaly

>

Atomic Bomb Microcephaly is caused by the large amount of radiation exposed to the fetus in the mother's tummy in the early stages of pregnancy.

It is characterized by an extremely small head, intellectual disability, and short stature.

They also tend to get sick.

It is said that people with microcephaly of the atomic bomb are often mistaken for being the second generation of the atomic bomb because they were born after the atomic bombing, but they are the "youngest survivors" who were directly exposed to the atomic bomb in their mother's stomach.

According to the Mushroom Association, which supports people with A-bomb microcephaly, there are currently 16 people with A-bomb microcephaly nationwide.

Reporter of Hiroshima Broadcasting Station

Ryosuke Sasaki

Joined in 2014

After working at Tottori Station, he was in charge of municipal administration and atomic bomb coverage at Hiroshima Station.

His hobby is fishing.