Censorship was widely imposed by the American authorities during the occupation and affected information about the atomic bombing and its aftereffects. Because nuclear weapons had never been used before, no one knew exactly what their long-term effects would be. Reassuring statements from American authorities in 1945 turned out to be misleading, as they were based on insufficient information. Elevated risks of cancer, for example, were not properly understood. Even when information did exist, some of it was withheld. Many aspects of the atomic bomb were military secrets, and Japanese news media and other publications were subject to censorship. The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission was established by President Truman to study the health effects of the two atomic bombs, but its first general report was not published until 1947, and detailed studies did not appear until years later. Secrecy and Censorship News stories filed by Japanese journalists were previewed and rubber-stamped by U.S. military censors. From Establishment and Conduct of Field Press Censorship in Combat Areas, published by the U.S. Army. Guidelines restricting public statements about atomic weapons were distributed internally among high-level Navy personnel. From the National Archives. Front cover and two pages from the Japanese tanka poetry collection titled Sange by Ms. Shinoe Shoda, secretly published in 1947 to evade occupation censorship. The poems are based on her personal experience at home in Hiroshima, 1.7 kilometers (1 mile) from where the bomb fell. She was 35 years old. “The censorship was so strict,” she recalls, “and I was told that any violation would almost certainly lead to the death penalty. But with a strong determination, even if it meant facing the death penalty, I published this book underground, compelled by a force inside myself, though my family tried to stop me.”—Quoted from Sange. Photograph courtesy of Nihon Hidankyo. Sumiteru Taniguchi (Nagasaki, 1929–2017) On August 9, 1945, Mr. Sumiteru Taniguchi was 2 kilometers (1.3 miles) away from the blast center in Nagasaki. He was 16 years old. Thermal radiation burned his back so badly that he had to lie on his stomach for a year and nine months while being treated. Many times, because of the pain, he cried out “Kill me!” When he was finally able to stand up, the flesh of his front torso had become putrefied and deep chasms had formed between his ribs. I have survived miraculously, but for me, to “live” was to “endure the agony.” Bearing the cursed scars of the atomic bomb all over our bodies, we the hibakusha continue to live in pain. Nuclear weapons are weapons of extinction that cannot coexist with humans. They should never, ever be used for any reason whatsoever. I cannot die in peace until I witness the last nuclear warhead eliminated from this world. Above: Mr. Taniguchi speaks before government delegates at the NGO Session of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, May 7, 2010. Photograph courtesy of Nihon Hidankyo. Top right: Sit-in to protest against nuclear testing, Nagasaki, 1984. Photograph by Haruo Kurosaki. Bottom right: Joining the peace rally in Union Square, New York, April 26, 2015. Photograph by Erico Platt.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDU4ODgz