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International Socialist Review, Winter 1958

 

“Could Happen Anywhere”

 

From International Socialist Review, Vol.19 No.1, Winter 1958, p.9.
Transcription & mark-up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.

 

Tadao Watanabe, Mayor of Hiroshima on a visit to America, told a reporter of the Los Angeles Times Oct. 24 about the atom-bombing of his city:

“There were 430,000, including soldiers in the city then. After the atomic bomb, which killed nearly 200,000 persons, the population diminished to 130,000.

“Many left Hiroshima. But many are now returning. The city, tenth largest in Japan, has reached the 400,000 mark.”

Of these, 100,000 still report to the Atomic Bomb Hospital for periodical checks on the effects of radiation, among them the Mayor, who bears a scarred face. Two thousand victims are still hospitalized. Thirty-two deaths due to radiation disease have been reported so far this year.

Twelve years after the blast, Hiroshima is “about 50% recovered from the effects of the A-bomb ... There are still many bridges to rebuild. There is a shortage of homes. Streets and sewers need attention. However, our schools have nearly all been rebuilt.”

In response to a question about how the residents feel toward those who, without warning, exploded the fearful bomb over their homes, schools, hospitals and other public buildings, the Mayor tactfully replied: “Our people have no particular feeling against Americans. They understand this could happen anywhere in war ...”

 
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