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UWAJIMA, Ehime — A 70-year-old woman dedicated to sharing the truth about the Hiroshima atomic bombing shared the story of a hibakusha who survived the attack with approximately 50 attendees during a speech she gave in this city in western Japan.

Fumiko Fujii is part of the “A-bomb legacy successors,” a program initiated by the Hiroshima Municipal Government since fiscal 2012. This initiative aims to ensure that the stories and aspirations for peace from hibakusha are shared as their numbers decrease due to aging. Individuals in this role undergo training in areas like public speaking, allowing survivors to share their experiences through various meetings. These successors then participate in activities such as delivering lectures. By April 2026, 264 individuals were actively involved in this capacity.

Fujii served as a certified dietitian at a hospital located in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, until she retired, after which she took up a position as a professor at Hiroshima Shudo University and relocated to Hiroshima. “I became aware of the true impact of the atomic bombing through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and I recognized my own lack of knowledge,” she mentioned to the Mainichi Shimbun. Following her retirement from the university in 2024, she chose to become a successor of the A-bomb legacy.

Shingo Naito, 87, who was exposed to the atomic bomb when he was 6 years old at his house approximately 1.7 kilometers from the center of the explosion, shared his story with Fujii. Naito was in his backyard attempting to catch a crab at the time of the Hiroshima bombing on August 6, 1945. He managed to survive as the explosion hurled him into an air-raid shelter that his father had constructed.

Naito came from a family of seven. His 4-year-old brother and 2-year-old sister were buried under the house, which was entirely destroyed, and they died later that day. His father, who sustained serious burns in the yard, and his two older brothers, aged 13 and 9 at the time, who were exposed to radiation while away from home, also died one after another within about three weeks. After World War II ended, Naito lived with his mother, but she passed away in 1953, and he was reportedly raised by relatives.

Fujii clearly recounted painful memories she acquired from Naito during her initial lecture in her hometown of Uwajima on May 23. She shared stories such as, “I will never forget the expression on my mother’s face as she climbed onto the roof of our destroyed home and desperately pulled my younger brother and sister out of the debris,” and, “When we attempted to go to a first-aid station and I reached for my severely burned father’s hand, his skin came off and I instinctively let go. I still feel guilty and regret it today.”

Rie Hyodo, 65, who was present at the lecture, remarked, “It was a profound narrative, yet I appreciated hearing it, especially during a period when tensions persist globally.”

Following the lecture, Fujii remarked, “I appreciate that everyone was so attentive. There’s not much one person can accomplish, but particularly in these times, I hope people will consider more deeply what occurs when conflict arises.”

(Japanese original by Hidekazu Fujiie, Matsuyama Office)