Junji Sarashina, president of the American Society of Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors (ASA) and a survivor of Hiroshima, speaks at the HICARE seminar on Oct. 12 at Osato Medical Clinic in Torrance.
Threat of nuclear war growing as a-bomb survivors, Hiroshima physicians gather for biannual exams.
By GWEN MURANAKA
RAFU SENIOR EDITOR
TORRANCE —?On Oct. 12, the biannual medical examinations of atomic bombing victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki coincided with the news that a Japanese group of survivors had been awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to draw attention to the horrors of nuclear war.
Nearly two dozen hibakusha came to the Osato Medical Clinic in Torrance for the exams, which have been conducted by a team from Hiroshima since 1977. Those gathered expressed joy that their work has been recognized and acknowledged the many reasons why their mission so important.
“I don’t need a microphone,” 95-year-old atomic bomb survivor Junji Sarashina said with a booming voice. Sarashina, president of the American Society of Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors (ASA), was 16 when the bomb was detonated over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.
“Congratulations to the Nobel Prize received by the Japanese organization and hibakusha, the a-bomb survivors. Our organization over here in Los Angeles is called ASA and … started back in 1977, and many of us received the first treatment from Dr. (Fred) Sakurai.”
“Basically we are very happy for getting that type of recognition for our efforts, although the award was given to the people in Japan. We’re doing similar kind of work although our footprint is kind of small, but the message is still the same,” said Howard Kakita, a member of ASA, who was .8 miles from the hypocenter in Hiroshima.
“The global situation the way it is, with Ukraine and Russa and Putin rattling his saber about the use of tactical nuclear weapons. (Putin’s) definition of tactical weapons is about the size of the bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The real weapons, the ones that are currently available in most countries, 13,000 of them altogether, is about 100 times or 1,000 times greater than the ones dropped in 1945.”
The Nobel Committee recognized Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots organization of survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for their efforts to “achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.”
Next year marks the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In making the announcement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee noted that today’s nuclear weapons are much more destructive; countries with nukes are upgrading and modernizing their arsenals and other countries such as Iran are trying to acquire them.
The Nobel committee warned: “At this moment in human history, it is worth reminding ourselves what nuclear weapons are: the most destructive weapons the world has ever seen.”
The Hiroshima medical team shared the results of their research that show the urgency of their mission. HICARE (Hiroshima International Council for the Radiation Exposed) consists of eight research and medical organizations which study the human impacts of radiation.
Dr. Makoto Matsumura. Dr. Kenji Kamiya and Dr. Kanako Kitahara shared the results of research on hibakusha and also the medical response and research into radiation accidents following World War II.
Matsumura and his team held a health clinic for the overseas survivors. These free examinations have been held every other year since 1977 and are conducted in L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu and Vancouver.
According to their research, solid cancer in survivors, whose average age is 84, started to appear ten years after exposure and has increased throughout their lives. Leukemia started to increase several years after exposure, reaching a peak after five to 10 years, and then decreased.
Kamiya, chair of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, explained their efforts to support the people of Fukushima following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and nuclear power plant accident.
Kitahara explained the benefits that hibakusha may be eligible to receive, including financial assistance. Starting on April 1, 2022, survivors who were exposed to the “black rain” of Hiroshima are eligible to receive an atomic bomb survivors’ health handbook. Criteria to receive the handbook include exposure to “black rain” and having certain diseases. The survivors, if certified, may receive assistance for health care and funeral expenses.
Etsuko Hide’s mother Fujiko Yoshikawa was in school on the outskirts of Hiroshima and was taking a test when the bomb exploded. She was a writer who contributed to the Japanese section of The Rafuand wrote a short story based on her experiences on Aug. 6, 1945, which is featured on the Women Rising Radio podcast.
“Because they didn’t know about radiation, she went to town the next day looking for her father because he was in the hospital for something,” Hide explained.
“So she ended up getting radiation sickness because she went into town … She would see people with their skin dripping off their arms and the walls were still warm from the radiation.
“She didn’t have any witnesses so she wouldn’t get the hibakusha designation, but two years ago, Midori Seino of the ASA group pointed her to the black rain certification and we were able to get that.
“We got the application from the Japan Consulate in Downtown L.A. and filled it out and also had her family doctor provide information on her medical background, her diabetes and osteoporosis, which are two diseases covered, so she was able to qualify.”
Other diseases that qualify include cataracts, hypertensive heart disease, chronic kidney failure, gastric ulcers and liver function impairment.
Yoshikawa was 91 when she passed away last February. For the last two years, through the “black rain” program she received $200 to $300 monthly.
Kakita created a document that explains how survivors can receive assistance with funeral expenses.
“Every little bit helps and it wasn’t too difficult,” Hide said.
If you are a hibakusha and would like information on the next medical visit in 2026, contact ASA at [email protected] or visit their website at http://nomorehibakusha.org.