VOA新闻杂志2025--Atomic Bomb Survivors Plan New Push for Nuclear Disarmament

Survivors¹ of the U.S. atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki said receiving a Nobel Peace Prize has given them new energy to campaign for nuclear disarmament.

Next August will be the 80th anniversary of the two atomic bombings that ended World War II in 1945.

Terumi Tanaka survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. He said, "I felt like I needed to work even harder on what I had done so far."

Tanaka is 92 years old. He spoke² at a press conference in Tokyo on December 24 after returning from Oslo, Norway. That is where he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese atomic bomb survivors' organization earlier in the month. Tanaka is chair of the organization. He noted³ that next year is an important point in history marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War.

"I believe it is important to focus on the next 10 years and strengthen the movement moving forward," he added. "I would like to lead a big movement of testimonials."

Tanaka is a retired⁴ materials engineering professor. He said he wants Japan to take the leadership in nuclear disarmament.

"What else is there for Japan, the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, to do other than leading the nuclear disarmament?"

Nuclear deterrence⁵ vs. disarmament

Tanaka said he will ask Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba about the issue when they are expected to meet in January. Ishiba supports nuclear deterrence, the policy of preventing an attack by having powerful military weapons.

Japan is protected under the U.S. nuclear policy. Japan also has not signed the United Nations' Treaty on the Prohibition⁶ of Nuclear Weapons. All other countries that are believed to have nuclear weapons, including the United States, have also not signed the U.N. treaty.

However, atomic bomb survivors have repeatedly requested the Japanese government to sign the treaty.

Michiko Kodama survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which took place three days before the Nagasaki blast. She said she felt the Nobel Prize and the congratulatory messages were rewards after years of hardship, discrimination and fear of health effects from radiation. But she wants more people to know the real effects of nuclear weapons.

Kodama was seven years old in August 1945. She said that, in 10 years, the survivors of the bombings will no longer be able to "tell the reality of the atomic bombing." She said, "I want to keep telling our stories as long as we live."

Nihon Hidankyo has been described as a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors. They have worked for nearly 70 years to continue the taboo⁷ around the use of nuclear weapons. However, the weapons have grown in power and number since being used for the first and only time in warfare⁸ by the United States on Japan to end the Second World War.

The U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima is believed to have killed 140,000 people. The bombing of Nagasaki is estimated to have killed another 70,000 people.

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender to the United States on August 15. That brought an end to the conflict between the two countries that began with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, December 7, 1941.

Words in This Story

focus - v. to cause one's attention to be directed at or on something

testimonial - n. a written or spoken statement that praises someone's work, skill, or character

deterrence - n. the policy of preventing a military attack on your country by having the ability to answer with at least the same or stronger military force

grassroots - adj. a movement or organization that appears to be from normal or average people in society

taboo -n. something that is not permitted by custom or morality

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

6 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

7 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

8 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。