On the 24th, it will be one year since the death of A-bomb survivor Tadashi Tsuboi, who for many years led the movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons in Japan and overseas.

We heard voices of mourning for Mr. Tsuboi's death and voices of determination toward the abolition of nuclear weapons from those involved.

As an A-bomb survivor of Hiroshima, Mr. Nao Tsuboi, who has been at the forefront of the movement to abolish nuclear weapons for many years with the phrase "never give up," passed away on October 24, 2018 at the age of 96. In addition to serving as the chairman of Tsukuru Hiroshima Hidankyo = Hiroshima Prefectural Council of Atomic Bomb Victims Organizations, he has continued his activities both in Japan and overseas, including directly exchanging words with then-President Barack Obama six years ago and appealing for the abolition of nuclear weapons. I came.

Mr. Tomoyuki Minomaki, who has succeeded Mr. Tsuboi as chairman of the Hiroshima Prefectural Hidankyo, visited Peace Park in Hiroshima City on the 24th, where a list of the atomic bomb victims with Mr. Tsuboi's name written on it is placed. I put flowers on the monument.



President Minomaki said, "I offered flowers to thank you for your hard work in peace activities for so long. With the threat of nuclear weapons rising in the world, I will once again cherish Mr. Tsuboi's words, 'never give up.' I want to continue thinking about whether nuclear abolition can be realized."

A voice from a junior teacher

As a teacher, Mr. Tsuboi has continued to talk about the terror of the atomic bomb and the importance of peace.



It's been a year since Mr. Tsuboi passed away, and his junior teacher once again asked me to mourn him.



Hisaharu Matsui (68) was a former junior high school teacher of mathematics and met Mr. Tsuboi, then the vice-principal at Midorimachi Junior High School in Hiroshima City, where he worked as a newcomer.



Mr. Tsuboi, who is also a senior mathematics teacher, taught him the importance of facing children from the same point of view. increase.



Before Tsuboi's death anniversary, Mr. Matsui visited Miyuki Bridge in Hiroshima City on the 21st of this month, and quietly put his hands together while thinking of Mr. Tsuboi, who escaped to this place with his life after being exposed to the atomic bombing.



Mr. Matsui, who is currently a guide for students on a school excursion at Peace Park in Hiroshima City, said, "I still haven't felt that I'm dead yet. I always think that he helped build the foundation for me as a teacher. Whether it's peace studies, mathematics subjects, or student guidance, I think it's thanks to Mr. Tsuboi that I was able to reach retirement age as a teacher." I thanked them again.



On the other hand, after Mr. Tsuboi's death, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons has increased due to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. I think they will say, 'I want President Putin to see what will happen if we use nuclear weapons.'"



After that, Mr. Matsui said, "I am also a second-generation survivor of the atomic bombing, and I have been given the opportunity to be a guide at the Peace Park. I should never go back to the original experience, but I would like to share what happened in Hiroshima with the younger generation as a re-experience. I would like to continue activities to spread awareness of the horror of nuclear weapons."

Exhibition of works related to "Never Give Up" at junior high school

At a junior high school in Hiroshima where Mr. Tsuboi once served as vice-principal, at the school festival on the 21st of this month, a work related to "never give up" that Mr. Tsuboi continued to advocate was exhibited.



About 40 years ago, at Midorimachi Junior High School in Minami Ward, Hiroshima City, teachers and students, including Mr. Tsuboi, who was the vice-principal, worked together to collect the testimonies of the bereaved families of the children who died in the atomic bombing and put together a booklet. was published and is still being used as a teaching material for peace studies.



The school held a school festival on the 21st of this month, and this year, works related to "Never give up", which Mr. Tsuboi continued to advocate, were exhibited.



Approximately 700 students and faculty members of the entire school wrote their names and other information on pieces of paper and glued them together. Inside a large piece of cardboard measuring 3.60 meters high and 7.60 meters wide, the phrase "never give up" was written in Japanese. It is a design in which the characters such as "Futo Fukutsu" emerge.

Rei Inada, a third-year student who is the head of the cultural library committee and was involved in the planning and production of the work, said, "Since the cultural festival and the anniversary of Mr. Tsuboi's death were near, we started talking about communicating about peace, and it came to mind. It was difficult to make, but I am very happy that I was able to create a work that expresses peace through the gathering of individual pieces."



After that, "Mr. Tsuboi passed away, we have to understand the meaning of passing it on to the next generation, and we have to continue activities to pass it on. So that Mr. Tsuboi's activities are not wasted, we must spread the word to the world. I think we need to make an appeal," he said strongly.

Satoyuki Namikawa, vice-principal of Midorimachi Junior High School, said, "I believe that the spirit of Mr. I want you to connect with working hard."

College students who heard about Ms. Tsuboi's A-bomb experience

A university student from Fukuyama who heard about Mr. Tsuboi's A-bomb experience when he was a junior high school student, looked back on Mr. Tsuboi as an emotional support for the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.



Yuta Takahashi, a university student from Fukuyama City who continues to advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons in Japan and abroad, listened to Mr. Tsuboi's A-bomb experience when he was in the third year of junior high school and compiled it into a booklet.



Takahashi looked back on the year since Tsuboi's death amidst the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukraine, saying, "He was a person who could persuasively convey the message of why nuclear weapons are wrong. Such a world." It was a time when I really felt the magnitude of the existence of the hibakusha, including Mr. Tsuboi, in the current situation."



Also, in August this year, when Mr. Takahashi visited New York to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons in conjunction with the Review Conference of the NPT = Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he remembered Mr. Tsuboi. ``I felt that it was not a normal thing to face a country that was completely opposed to nuclear weapons, but when I think about what Mr. Tsuboi and others have worked so hard to appeal to, I feel encouraged and encouraged. Naturally, I replied that if it was Mr. Tsuboi, I was thinking about how I would behave," he recalled, adding, "I want to continue to create my own original words from my encounters with Mr. Tsuboi. I think that he will continue to provide me with emotional support from time to time,” he said.