In this talk, Chiyoko Motomura, who was six when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, will describe what happened on the 9th of August 1945, along with her personal memories. Dr Masao Tomonaga, who was only two and devoted his career to studying the medical effects of the atomic bombs, will give his view of the lessons we need to learn and ask what we can do to help. Finally, Tomoko Ōtaki, a second-generation A-bomb survivor, will share her activities, including her views about the role of the second generation.

This event is organised in collaboration with the Nagasaki Hibakusha Notebook Friendship Association (長崎県被爆者手帳友の会).

This event will be livestreamed. To watch it, please click here.

About the contributor

Chiyoko Motomura
Born 1939. Member of the Nagasaki Hibakusha Notebook Friendship Association. A direct victim of the bombing at the age of six at Koegō, Fukuda Village, Nishisonogi District, Nagasaki Prefecture (now Koemachi, Nagasaki City).

Masao Tomonaga
Dr. Masao Tomonaga is Director Emeritus of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital. He was born in Nagasaki City in 1943, where he experienced the second atomic bomb on August 9th, 1945. He was just two years old at the time, and survived in a half-destroyed wooden Japanese house located around 2.5 km from the hypocentre. He grew up healthy and became a distinguished physician specializing in atomic bomb-related medical care for hibakusha (atomic bomb victims). For over five decades, he has led pioneering research into the links between radiation exposure and the development of leukaemia and other cancers. Following the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, he gave a lecture both drawing on his personal history and lifelong commitment to nuclear disarmament, and also explaining the inhumanity of nuclear weapons from a scientific perspective.

Tomoko Ōtaki
Born 1961. Member of the Nagasaki Hibakusha Notebook Friendship Association and the Second-Generation Hibakusha Association. Her main activities have been support for hibakusha peace activities during the Visit to Ukraine and Belarus (23 April – 4 May 2018) and Peace Lectures in Akita City Peace Week as part of the Akita Peace Convention (Oct-Dec 2018), participation in the Hope & Healing Tour in USA (6-20 November 2023) and participation in the tour to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (8-12 December 2024).