‘I hope it never happens again’
Nagasaki witness recalls nuclear blast
Seventy years ago, the United States government dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The result was utter devastation. The blasts killed roughly 160,000 people, injured hundreds of thousands more and left massive numbers of others with radiation poisoning and burns that would eventually take their lives.
Today, members of the Saskatoon Peace Coalition will hold an event to honour the victims, while calling on governments to ensure this type of attack never happens again.
One of the people who witnessed the attack at Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945 was Saskatoon resident Dr. Hikoroku Hashimoto.
Watching from the community of Kumamoto, located about 100 kilometres east of Nagasaki, the now 84-year-old veterinarian was only 14 at the time. He said it resembled a large flash of lightning.
“I was the only one that stayed outside,” Hashimoto said. “My father didn’t notice that I was missing from the house.”
While Hashimoto said he eventually got in trouble from his father for staying outside, he was “very curious” about the blast, because Hiroshima had been bombed just two days earlier.
While the Hiroshima attack came with little warning, broadcasters were telling the population about a “parachute bomb” before the bombing of Nagasaki occurred, he said.
Even as a child, Hashimoto said he knew he was far enough away from the explosion that it wouldn’t cause him harm, but the next day, he read about the detonation in a newspaper and saw how many people had been killed.
“It was terrible,” he said of reports from the epicentre and surrounding area.
Hashimoto plans to attend Tuesday’s event at Rotary Park from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. He said the memorial is important to ensure people never forget the devastation the attacks caused.
“I hope it never happens again,” he said. “It was such a tragedy, so many people died instantly.”
He will join a crowd of local people who are expected to participate in the memorial. John Crawford, one of the organizers, said the level of devastation was “mind blowing.”
“The suffering that was involved and the damage was quite severe,” Crawford said, noting he hopes the event relays a clear message.
“We’re very much supportive of the non-proliferation of nuclear arms, because we don’t want to see a repeat of these things,” he said. “If you were a survivor of one of the bombs, you really went through a horrible time.”
Crawford, who is the co-organizing chair of the event on behalf of the Saskatoon Peace Coalition, said he hopes its message will reach people in power.
“We know that politicians, their job isn’t always an easy one, but I think they need to look at the whole picture the best they can,” he said. “If they can find a better way to solve our difficulties, we would appreciate it very much.”
Participants will also have an opportunity to see performances by the Japanese Children’s Choir and the Grace Westminster Choir.
If it rains, the event will be moved to Grace Westminster Church.