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2020 marks 75 years since the end of World War II, and 75 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the first time a nuclear weapon was used in war. The FPCJ invited Ms. Keiko Ogura, a hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) from Hiroshima, to hold an online press briefing ahead of the anniversary of the bombing, August 6.

 

When Ms. Ogura was eight years old and in her second year of elementary school, the bomb was dropped when she was near her home, around 2.4 kilometers from the center of the blast. In 1984, she established Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace (HIP), and by interpreting for foreign researchers and journalists who visit Hiroshima, she has worked to communicate the reality of the atomic bombing to the world. Despite this being the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on activities to tell of Hiroshima’s experience, with school trips which would have come from around Japan and events overseas having been cancelled, and memorials being reduced in scale or cancelled.

 

Ms. Ogura discussed her current thoughts on the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing, her hopes for the abolishment of nuclear weapons, and what she would like to tell people as we live during a pandemic.

 

The briefing had a total of 35 participants including journalists from Austria, Bangladesh, Denmark, France, Korea, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Swiss, UK, and US.

＜Distributed Material＞
Profile of Keiko Ogura

＜Related Information＞

Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace (HIP), will live stream on YouTube to convey voices of Hiroshima in English on August 6th, 2020 — the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing.

They will give a guided virtual tour of monuments and A-bombed buildings inside and outside Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park. Additionally, two atomic bomb survivors including Ms. Ogura, will share their testimonies. (See the details at the following link.)

Live from Ground Zero: 75th Hiroshima Anniversary

[About the Briefing]

■Date: Monday, July 27, 2020, 14:30～16:00

■Briefer: Ms. Keiko Ogura

■Language: Japanese, with consecutive English interpretation