Terumi Tanaka

Terumi Tanaka
Native name 田中 煕巳
Born Manchuria
Nationality Japanese
Organization Nihon Hidankyo
In this Japanese name, the family name is Tanaka.

Tanaka Terumi (田中 煕巳 Tanaka Terumi, born 1932) is a Japanese anti-nuclear and anti-war activist and former professor. He is a hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, and is the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, a Japan-wide organisation of atomic and hydrogen bomb sufferers.[1] He lives in Niiza, Saitama.

Early life

He was born in 1932 in Manchuria in China, which was then under Japanese occupation as the puppet state of Manchukuo.[2] He later moved to Nagasaki.

Atomic bombing of Hiroshima

Tanaka was 13 years old when Nagasaki was bombed, and his home was around 3.2 kilometres from the hypocenter. He was blown through several panes of glass but did not suffer major injuries. He lost his grandfather, two uncles, an aunt, and a cousin in the bombing. He personally cremated his aunt in a nearby field after she died several days after the bombing.[3]

Postwar career

He was an associate professor in the school of engineering at Tohoku University.[2]

Activism

Tanaka has been involved with hibakusha activism since 1974, and he became secretary-general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations in 2000.[4]

He has repeatedly called upon the US to apologise for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to get rid of its nuclear weapons,[5] as well as stating that all nuclear weapons should be abolished, and that their use is never justified.[6][7][8] He has also condemned North Korean nuclear tests.[9]

He has also spoken out against discrimination against atomic bomb survivors and their descendants.[10]

After the March 11 disaster and meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Power plant in 2011, Tanaka and Hidankyo called for the decommissioning of reactors that had already been shut down.[11]

Along with other atomic bomb survivors Tanaka attended the speech of US President Barack Obama in Hiroshima, responding positively[12] and praising it as being "wonderful", although he regretted that Obama had not been able to make progress towards a nuclear free world.[13][14] After reading a translation of the speech and fully understanding the contents, he regretted praising the speech, stating that Obama's abstract language such as "Death fell from the sky" was unacceptable, given the bombing was a deliberate act by the US.[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ Nihon Hidankyo website About Us Retrieved August 5, 2016
  2. 1 2 Fujimura, Junpei Interview with Terumi Tanaka, head of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, on nuclear disarmament conference in Oslo March 25, 2016 Retrieved August 2, 2016
  3. ↑ Tanaka, Terumi Appeal of the Hibakusha Retrieved August 3, 2016
  4. ↑ Peace Boat 2014 Retrieved August 3, 2016
  5. ↑ U.S. to Send First Delegation to Hiroshima A-Bomb Ceremony August 4, 2010 Retrieved August 3, 2016
  6. ↑ Tanaka, Terumi 2000 World Conference against A & H Bombs Speech Retrieved August 3, 2016
  7. ↑ Tanaka, Terumi Speech Retrieved August 3, 2016
  8. ↑ Shibata, Mari Japan's Last A-Bomb Survivors Push to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons August 6, 2015 Retrieved August 3, 2016
  9. ↑ A-bomb survivors, families of abductees condemn North Korea’s nuclear test January 6, 2016 Japan Times Retrieved August 3, 2016
  10. ↑ Aoki, Mizuho Fukushima activist fights fear and discrimination based on radiation May 9, 2013 Japan Times Retrieved August 3, 2016
  11. ↑ Hibakusha turn against nuke power August 7, 2011 Japan Times Retrieved August 3, 2016
  12. ↑ Hibakusha rate Obama’s Hiroshima speech highly May 28, 2016 Japan Times Retrieved August 3, 2016
  13. ↑ Rich, Makoto President Obama Visits Hiroshima May 27, 2016 New York Times Retrieved August 3, 2016
  14. ↑ Lies, Elaine Atomic bomb survivors: Obama apology nice, but priority is disarmament May 19, 2016 Retrieved August 3, 2016
  15. ↑ Hibakusha: A-bomb sufferers' group official regrets praising Obama speech August 2, 2016 Mainichi Shimbun Retrieved August 3, 2016
  16. ↑ Hibakusha group says Obama Hiroshima speech ‘avoided responsibility’ Jun 17, 2016 Japan Times Retrieved August 3, 2016


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