One day marks 70 years since the tuna fishing boat Daigo Fukuryu Maru in Yaizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture was exposed to radiation in an American hydrogen bomb test.
Approximately 1,000 people from all over the country gathered at a rally held in Shizuoka City on the occasion, calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
On March 1, 1954, the United States conducted a hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, which caused so-called "ashes of death" containing radioactive materials to fall over a wide area, destroying the tuna fishing boat Daigo Fukuryu Maru in Yaizu City and fishing boats in Kochi Prefecture. The crew members of the ship were exposed to radiation.
On the 1st, the 70th anniversary of the hydrogen bomb test, a large-scale gathering was held in Shizuoka City, with approximately 1,000 people from all over the country visiting.
At the meeting, a man from Kochi City, who is involved in collecting testimonies from former crew members, introduced testimonies about the conditions at the time of the radiation exposure.
``Onboard the ship, we used seawater to brush our teeth and wash our bodies, so now that we think about it, we were exposed to internal radiation,'' and ``Even though mushroom clouds were rising in the sky and ash was falling, the sailors continued to work engrossed. It is said that there are testimonies that say,
After this, a video message was introduced from Setsuko Shimomoto (73), whose father, who was a crew member on a fishing boat in Kochi Prefecture, died of cancer.
Ms. Shimomoto attended a ceremony held on the 1st in the Marshall Islands, and in her video message said, ``I was able to speak with two women in their 70s who had evacuated from their home islands due to the effects of radiation exposure, and I was able to talk to them about nuclear tests.'' I was able to feel the feelings of someone whose life had been changed due to the incident, and I was able to share my feelings of regret.''
The rally ended with an appeal calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Takako Kasuya from Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture, who participated in the rally and is working to pass on the experiences of former crew members of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru, said, ``I'm glad so many people gathered from all over the country to mark the 70th anniversary. "First of all, I think it's important to know the facts about radiation exposure and then pass that information on to the next generation."