reprinted with permission from
Poison Fire, Sacred Earth,

TESTIMONIES, LECTURES, CONCLUSIONS,
THE WORLD URANIUM HEARING, SALZBURG 1992

pages 199-202

. . . I'd like to read the message from a Hibakusha. She is one of our patients, she was going to come here with me, but she could not because of her health problems. . . .
. . . I was 23 years old at the time of the bombing in August 9, 1945. With the explosion of the plutonium atomic bomb our peaceful home collapsed on the spot. I myself was bombed about two kilometers from the hyper-centre. . . .
About ten years ago, I visited the reservation of the Navajo tribe, stayed for a night at their home and exchanged with the victims of uranium mining. I learned for the first time that there are also radiation victims in the country that bombed A-bombs on us. They had already become the victims before us. They are also suffering from radiation injuries and losing their family. Moreover, the situation was much more severe than ours because of the political pressure, poverty and the discrimination to the indigenous people. . . .

Today, I'd like to speak about two things. One is a real situation of the injuries of the Hibakusha. The other is a problem of the solidarity between the indigenous people and our anti-nuclear power plants movement. Those who have pushed for the construction of nuclear power plants and those who wanted the production and the development of nuclear weapons never acknowledged the dire situation of the radiation victims. One of the origins of their information is that of the Hibakushas' injuries. Just after the bombing, the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) studied Hibakusha. They do so only to develop nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants in their countries. They treated Hibakusha like animals for their own experiment and never took medical care of them. The Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) was established in 1975 as a joint Japan-U.S.-foundation to take over the research programs of the ABCC. They have been underestimating the injuries but it has been authorized internationally even now.
So I'd like to show the real injuries according to our own investigation of Hibakusha and share our knowledge among us to strengthen the movement demanding the relief and compensation for the radiation victims in each country, and also demanding the nuclear free world. . . .
I'd like to tell the other important health problems of Hibakusha. Many Hibakusha have frequently complained of such symptoms as tiredness, vertigo, palpitations, lumbago backpain, stiff shoulders and neck pains, although a clear name of such diseases could not been given to the patients. All of these complaints are collectively called in Japanese "gembaku buraburabio". "Gembaku" means "atomic bomb" and "burabura" means, maybe in English "ring-a-ring" or "I do". We believe this is an important symptom that should have been regarded as a result of radiation exposure. Some findings in our investigation suggest a correlation between the symptoms and radiation exposure. Moreover, we can find similar situations, similar health disorders among other radiation victims in the world, for example Chernobyl children, Hanford downwinders, nuclear power plant workers in Japan and so on. But ABCC and RERF never considered this. They treated it as if it is caused by stress or some psychological problems. I think even the people who are acting in the anti-nuclear movement do not know about this syndrome.
. . . So, we can recognize the similar health coordination, difficulties of life, reduced ability for work and discrimination among every kind of radiation victims in the world today. We must make the responsibility clear to the people who made the radiation victim and demand of them not only the medical compensation but also the compensation for rural life injuries by radiation.





Dr. Katsumi Furitsu

Dr. Katsumi Furitsu, Japan. Medical doctor at the Hospital for Radiation Victims, Osaka (mostly Hibakusha), Delegate of the Investigation of Hibakusha (survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

Good morning everybody! My name is Katsumi Furitsu. I'm a medical doctor and take medical care on the radiation victims in Osaka in Japan. Radiation victims, most of them are Hibakusha, the survivors of the victims of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as you now. There are about 370,000 survivors in Japan. And 10,000 of them are now living in Osaka. I came here as a delegation of the Investigation Committee of Hibakusha, of Hanan Chuo Hospital. If possible, I'd like to read the message from a Hibakusha. She is one of our patients, she was going to come here with me, but she could not because of her health problems. Her name is Kazuko Yamashima. The message:

"I'd like to send greetings with all my heart to everybody attending The World Uranium Hearing. I'm a survivor of the atomic bomb victims of Nagasaki. At first, I'd like to tell about my story briefly. I was 23 years old at the time of the bombing in August 9, 1945. With the explosion of the plutonium atomic bomb our peaceful home collapsed on the spot. I myself was bombed about two kilometers from the hyper-centre. I walked through the fields of rubble and bodies of the dead and burnt people, trying to find my house. It was 400 meters from the hyper centre. The only thing that I saw there was the burnt bodies of my parents. With no where to go I slept on the ground beside my parents' bodies and slept nine days alone in the city of death. As the days passed, my limbs turned purple and my face turned to the colour of dust. My gums bled, I began to tremble with fever. On August 17th, I left Nagasaki for my mother's native town and there I trust I [was] hospitalised. In 1947, two years after the bombings, I began to have skin eruptions and they left many scars on my face. In August 1963, 18 years after the bombing, my skin turned black, and a fever, pain and itching made it impossible even to sleep. My body became stiffer and stiffer until I was not able to turn over in bed. I was just like the corpses that had laid in the ruins of Nagasaki.

It was at that time that I started to join the movement for the relief of atomic bomb victims. I was so afraid of the genetic affect to our babies, so I waited to marry until I was too old to have a baby. Now, at a glance I might not look so different from other people but I always tire very easily and lose energy very easily and purple spots appear on my skin so often. My right eye has already lost sight. Burnt by the radiation of the atomic bomb I determine that I should stand against nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, and pray for the peace of the world.

About ten years ago, I visited the reservation of the Navajo tribe, stayed for a night at their home and exchanged with the victims of uranium mining. I learned for the first time that there are also radiation victims in the country that bombed A-bombs on us. They had already become the victims before us. They are also suffering from radiation injuries and losing their family. Moreover, the situation was much more severe than ours because of the political pressure, poverty and the discrimination to the indigenous people.

I have been living through, suffering and struggling against the radiation injuries, loneliness, losing my dearest family, poverty and discrimination. I think nobody can understand deeply radiation injuries including those of health and life other than the victims themselves, like you and me. I really wish to attend this Hearing with you all and discuss with each other about our painful experiences and how to stop such a disaster. But 47 years have already passed from the bombing and it is too long a time for me. Now I'm an old woman of 70 years old and I cannot make such long journey. In Japan, our government has not established yet the National Compensation Law for Hibakusha, though we have been demanding it for a long time. We Hibakusha are telling our experiences to the people, especially to the young people, the younger generations, to appear never again the disasters of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Let's work for the peace and the nuclear free world. I really hope for the success of The World Uranium Hearing. Thank you."

And then I'd like to start my own speech.

Today, I'd like to speak about two things. One is a real situation of the injuries of the Hibakusha. The other is a problem of the solidarity between the indigenous people and our anti-nuclear power plants movement. Those who have pushed for the construction of nuclear power plants and those who wanted the production and the development of nuclear weapons never acknowledged the dire situation of the radiation victims. One of the origins of their information is that of the Hibakushas' injuries. Just after the bombing, the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) studied Hibakusha. They do so only to develop nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants in their countries. They treated Hibakusha like animals for their own experiment and never took medical care of them. The Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) was established in 1975 as a joint Japan-U.S.-foundation to take over the research programs of the ABCC. They have been underestimating the injuries but it has been authorized internationally even now.

So I'd like to show the real injuries according to our own investigation of Hibakusha and share our knowledge among us to strengthen the movement demanding the relief and compensation for the radiation victims in each country, and also demanding the nuclear free world. We, the Investigation Committee of Hibakusha of Hanan Chuo Hospital started our investigations in 1985, after 40 years from the bombing. We questioned 1,233 Hibakusha about their health and life. Most of them we directly asked. Using the result of the investigation we aim to progress the movement demanding the Japanese government to take the responsibility for the progressive war and to establish the National Compensation Law for Hibakusha as soon as possible. Hibakusha are even now suffering from radiation health injuries by A-bombings. More than 90 percent of them have some diseases now. The Hibakusha and the people who supported them organized the movement to demand a relief from the government and got some medical benefits more than ten years after the bombing. So they can get some medical service now. But the rate of 90 percent is 2.5 times higher than the general Japanese people in the same age group. Lumbago, hypertension, neuralgia, miralgia, anaemia, ducopania, gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcer, escamic heart diseases, liver diseases, diabetes and others are relatively high among Hibakusha. Compared to the general Japanese people, anaemia, ducopania is 13.4 times higher and liver diseases 6.4 times higher. You can find much more in detail in these papers. I haven't many copies of them, so if you want, please contact me later.

What I want to say is, cancer and leukemia are well known to be caused by radiation, but the high instance of these general diseases other than cancer and leukemia strongly suggest that such diseases are also related to the radiation, contrary to the view of the ICRB and the RERF. General diseases that can be seen among other radiation victims in the world should be also treated as radiation-related injuries, and compensation should not be selected only on leukemia and cancer and such diseases.

I'd like to tell the other important health problems of Hibakusha. Many Hibakusha have frequently complained of such symptoms as tiredness, vertigo, palpitations, lumbago backpain, stiff shoulders and neck pains, although a clear name of such diseases could not been given to the patients. All of these complaints are collectively called in Japanese "gembaku buraburabio". "Gembaku" means "atomic bomb" and "burabura" means, maybe in English "ring-a-ring" or "I do". We believe this is an important symptom that should have been regarded as a result of radiation exposure. Some findings in our investigation suggest a correlation between the symptoms and radiation exposure. Moreover, we can find similar situations, similar health disorders among other radiation victims in the world, for example Chernobyl children, Hanford downwinders, nuclear power plant workers in Japan and so on. But ABCC and RERF never considered this. They treated it as if it is caused by stress or some psychological problems. I think even the people who are acting in the anti-nuclear movement do not know about this syndrome. But it is very important because it is one of the important factors affecting the ability to work of the Hibakusha.

The effect of the atomic bomb should not be restricted to health. Such radiation injured health disorders have also caused difficulties of life, reduced abilities for work and discrimination. According to our investigation, the rate of changing jobs are higher than that of the general Japanese people. Their reason of changing jobs are mainly their health problems. There isn't a rise in income after changing jobs. And it is well-known that some Hibakusha experienced late rejection of a marriage engagement because they were only Hibakusha. In other cases, they were told that they could not have a baby because of the Hibakusha and were divorced. Even now such a discrimination continues. So, we can recognize the similar health coordination, difficulties of life, reduced ability for work and discrimination among every kind of radiation victims in the world today. We must make the responsibility clear to the people who made the radiation victim and demand of them not only the medical compensation but also the compensation for rural life injuries by radiation.

The next problem that I want to say is the solidarity between the indigenous people and our anti-nuclear power plants movement. Maybe I don't have so much time. I must summarize. In Japan, there are about 40 nuclear power plants, and many relatively small accidents have happened so often. If a severe accident like Chernobyl may happen in our country, nobody can run away from the exposures to radiation because our country is so small. We are demanding to stop running the nuclear power plants, and I think such activities are basically important to make our solidarity between the indigenous people because our nuclear power plants are running, using the uranium from the Mother Earth of the indigenous people, as you know. And more directly, I think it's very important to organize a movement to protest against the import of the uranium from the land of indigenous people. I visited the Southwest [of the USA] a few years ago, and there I saw uranium mines and also miners, and after that I tried to organize such a movement, and about two years ago we protested against the import of the uranium from Mount Taylor where the people of the Southwest as Anna Rondon, Philip Harrison and also Tom LaBlanc live. We had a meeting for that and we also went to protest against the import of the uranium and went to the electric power company with them and also with Thomas Banyacya Jr. and told the people from the company everything that is happening in the Southwest. But at that time the people from the company said: "It's only a business and we are not concerned about what is happening in the uranium mine, we don't know such things." And I'm sorry to say but they continue to import and run the nuclear power plants in our country now.

But we must continue to protest. Our country imports uranium not only from the States and Canada but also from Namibia and Australia. I think it's important and necessary to make an international network to exchange information and make our movement much more effective.

And at the end of my speech I'd like to propose you to appear as a conclusion from this World Uranium Hearing and to demand . . . yes, I think it's very important to stop the original sources of radiation to the world, so I'd like to say, we must demand to realize the moratorium on nuclear testing and go ahead to the comprehensive test ban and to make international solidarity for protesting against all the process of the nuclear fuel cycle. Especially, I think, we must protest against the Japanese transport of plutonium over the sea. It will soon start and we would like to protest against the ICRP and the IAEO underestimating the radiation injuries. And I hope to have the next World Uranium Hearing like this again and, finally, let's work together for the relief and compensation of the radiation victims in the world and make our movement stronger to realize a nuclear free world!

Thank you.