From Thermonuclear Tests at Bikini Atoll to the Movement to Ban Nuclear Bombs In 1954, an atmospheric nuclear test on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific dispersed nuclear fallout that reached the Japanese crew of a tuna-fishing boat, the Fifth Fukuryu Maru. The consequent radiation sickness of crew members was widely reported, including the death of Aikichi Kubohama, the radio officer. This event energized campaigns to ban nuclear weapons, including a petition in Japan that gathered more than 30 million signatures. Signature campaign protesting against atomic and hydrogen bombs in Ueno, Tokyo, April 1954. Photograph courtesy of Japan Gensuikyo. Crew members of the Fifth Fukuryu Maru were diagnosed with radiation sickness in April 1, 1954. Photograph courtesy of Mainichi Shimbun. The Fifth Fukuryu Maru discarded as derelict in “Yume no Shima,” Tokyo, 1970. Photograph by Ittetsu Morishita. The hydrogen bomb test “Bravo” at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. Photographed from a U.S. Air Force aircraft 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the blast. The Formation of Nihon Hidankyo —National Organization of the Hibakusha We do not want anyone in the world to experience the same suffering as we have. This message empowered the formation Nihon Hidankyo in 1956. Its “Message to the world” stated: “. . . we vow to save human beings from crisis through our experience as we heal and save ourselves.” The organization has struggled continuously to fulfill that vow for 64 years. Foundation of Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), Nagasaki, August 10, 1956. Both Photographs by Rengo Tsushin.
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