Still, that existence is facing the inevitable toll of time. As the ranks of hibakusha shrink, their lobbying groups have begun to fall on hard times. One disbanded in June 2019, citing the difficulties of continuing with an aging leadership.
“We’re coming to the point where we have to think about how our organizations can continue forward. The situation is tough,” said Koichiro Maeda, 71, a former director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the current head of the secretariat of one of the survivors’ groups.
It is more important than ever to ensure that the survivors’ legacy is carried on, said Maika Nakao, a professor of history at Nagasaki University who studies Japan’s relationship with nuclear weapons.
In addition to their role on the international stage, the survivors, and their stories, are an integral part of Japan’s national identity, serving as the country’s conscience in an era when the reasons for adhering to principles of peace have become more and more abstract.
“We have to think about how to acknowledge the history, how to memorialize it and how to pass it down to the future generations,” Professor Nakao said.
“We have a lot of testimonies, but it’s not enough. There is no perfect condition. No matter how much you ask, no matter how much you collect, it’s never enough. It’s important to document everything,” she said.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/asia/hiroshima-japan-75th-anniversary.html
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