Below is the transcript of the conversation taken from Hiroshima Peace Media Center
Part 3: “Nuclear weapons cause widespread contamination”
How do you feel about the handling of this incident by the governments of Japan and the U.S.?
As a victim of the radiation, I’m not satisfied, but because of the situation at the time, perhaps the government had no choice but to do what it did. But I’d at least like them to recognize that because of that I’m still suffering today. I just want them to understand that it’s not over, that I’m still suffering.
What lessons were learned from the tests on Bikini?
When nuclear weapons are used, widespread contamination occurs. The radioactive “ashes of death” rise into the atmosphere, cover the earth and then fall as rain. The ashes that fall into the Pacific Ocean enter the food chain, are concentrated in the bodies of fish and then are eaten by human beings. That’s what we learned from the Bikini incident. By rights, the Japanese government should have taken the lead and spoken out against the making of nuclear weapons. But the government at the time responded by saying in the Diet that it would cooperate in the nuclear tests by the U.S. As a result, there was a push to make more and more nuclear weapons, and now humanity is threatened by 20,000 or 30,000 nuclear warheads that are deployed around the world.
Interviewer:
Fifty-four years have passed since coral containing the “ashes of death” from the hydrogen bomb test conducted by the U.S. on Bikini fell on the Daigo Fukuryu Maru. As Mr. Oishi described in his account, the victims of the hydrogen bomb tests have spent their lives suffering from liver cancer and other illnesses, but they have received no compensation from the Japanese government. We must remind ourselves that there are victims of the hydrogen bomb who have been abandoned.
How do you feel about the handling of this incident by the governments of Japan and the U.S.?
As a victim of the radiation, I’m not satisfied, but because of the situation at the time, perhaps the government had no choice but to do what it did. But I’d at least like them to recognize that because of that I’m still suffering today. I just want them to understand that it’s not over, that I’m still suffering.
What lessons were learned from the tests on Bikini?
When nuclear weapons are used, widespread contamination occurs. The radioactive “ashes of death” rise into the atmosphere, cover the earth and then fall as rain. The ashes that fall into the Pacific Ocean enter the food chain, are concentrated in the bodies of fish and then are eaten by human beings. That’s what we learned from the Bikini incident. By rights, the Japanese government should have taken the lead and spoken out against the making of nuclear weapons. But the government at the time responded by saying in the Diet that it would cooperate in the nuclear tests by the U.S. As a result, there was a push to make more and more nuclear weapons, and now humanity is threatened by 20,000 or 30,000 nuclear warheads that are deployed around the world.
Interviewer:
Fifty-four years have passed since coral containing the “ashes of death” from the hydrogen bomb test conducted by the U.S. on Bikini fell on the Daigo Fukuryu Maru. As Mr. Oishi described in his account, the victims of the hydrogen bomb tests have spent their lives suffering from liver cancer and other illnesses, but they have received no compensation from the Japanese government. We must remind ourselves that there are victims of the hydrogen bomb who have been abandoned.
2 comments:
A really nice post.
As Mr. Oishi is one of the real victim from this 'Castle Bravo' bomb testing, he spoke and tell us clearly what is actually it looks like.
As you said that there are still a lot of bomb testing victim who have been abandoned, I think this is an unfair condition.
Maybe it is hard for Japanese government itself to help all of those victims, but at least, America or those who did the bomb testing should take the responsible about what they did and the impact to others.
i also like this video, because we are listening from the side of the victims of daigo fukuryu maru.
i also read that he often come to this Museum and tell Daigo Fukuryu Maru's story to the guests, especially High School students who come there for a school trip.
I wish i could meet him and hear the story, 'live' from him!!
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