August 2020 will mark the 75th anniversary of the United States’ atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombs produced explosions causing tens of thousands of civilian deaths, and in the following weeks a death toll that reached nearly 200,000. Even more faced dramatic long-term health effects and debilitating mental trauma.
Survivors of nuclear weapons use, production, and testing share a common rally: that these weapons never be used again.
This blog series will provide a window into the heartbreaking, but vital stories of nuclear survivors leading up to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversaries, and show why the US must reverse its dangerous course working towards the elimination of nuclear weapons. Individual action—no matter how big or small—is crucial both to the survivors and our hopes of getting rid of the most inhumane weapons ever created.
August 3, 2020 4:38 PM EDT
The United States government went to extraordinary lengths to hide the horrific effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the victims and survivors. Seventy-five years later, it continues to turn a blind eye to the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.
July 7, 2020 8:00 AM EDT
May 1, 2020 11:31 AM EDT
Japan does not have its own nuclear weapons. The Japanese government considered developing them in the past, but decided this would make Japan less secure. Japanese opinion polls consistently express strong public opposition to nuclear weapons. So do their elected representatives.
There is, however, a small group of non-elected Japanese bureaucrats with close ties to the U.S. defense establishment who insist U.S. nuclear weapons should be “the core of Japan’s security arrangements.” Wonks refer to this supposed core as “extended nuclear deterrence.” Journalists and politicians, especially in Japan, call it a “nuclear umbrella.”
April 8, 2020 10:13 AM EDT
One of the enduring lessons from the COVID-19 crisis may be that simple acts from enough ordinary people can make an enormous difference. We can apply it to other large and seemingly intractable problems. Sixty years ago concerned citizens got together to protect their health by demanding an end to nuclear testing. Read More
March 5, 2020 9:30 AM EDT
It seems this question is put to internet search engines with surprising frequency.
The answer is yes, and the people living there have a message for the curious: you don’t want to suffer what we suffered. Save yourselves before it’s too late. Read More
