Voices of Nagasaki after 75 Years

Abstract

ABSTRACT Soon after the second atomic bombing in 1945, hibakusha in Nagasaki saw the dawn of the Cold War, along with the Soviet Union’s possession of atomic bombs. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 created a real fear of nuclear war capable of destroying all of humanity. The Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 were a good sign of hope. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987, also succeeded in reducing nuclear warheads in the 1990s. However, we have also seen nuclear deterrence strategies of the nuclear powers firmly established. The Cold War ended in 1989, but its nuclear deterrence policies have persisted. Unfortunately, the NPT regime has gradually begun to weaken since 2010. Hibakusha and nongovernmental organizations such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons have stood firmly in strong solidarity and in 2017, succeeded in establishing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which entered into force on 22 January 2021. Even now, hibakusha continue to suffer lifelong radiation-induced cancers and leukemia. Hibakusha must face a new stage in the abolition of nuclear weapons under a dangerous divide between NPT supporters and TPNW promoters. To overcome this divide, we need to increase the power of civil society around the world.