Pearls and Irritations

At 11am Japanese time on 9 August 1945, the second, often forgotten, atomic bomb to be dropped from US B-29 ‘Bockscar’, on a Japanese city exploded in the Urakami Valley, an extension of the city of Nagasaki. The bomb was to have been dropped over downtown Nagasaki, but aim was poor.

The Bockscar mission was plagued by difficulties from the start. Nagasaki was never the primary target – the primary target had been the city of Kokura, but Kokura was obscured by dense smoke both from a previous US conventional raid and because the workers at Kokura steelworks were burning coal tar to make smoke. Bockscar wasted much fuel flying over Kokura repeatedly to try to see its primary target before proceeding to Nagasaki.

Nagasaki hadn’t been on the original target list at all – it was placed there when secretary of state Stimson vetoed the bombing of Kyoto, crammed as it was (and is) with ancient temples and religious sites of World Heritage significance. Nagasaki was a replacement for Kyoto.

During the flight to Japan, as the plane reached the altitude at which the bomb was to have been detonated, the bombs firing circuit self- activated, and for awhile it seemed as if the plane might be blown out of the sky by its own bomb until the crew managed to de-activate the firing circuit.

Once the mission was accomplished, Bockscar was forced to land at Okinawa, only recently in US hands. The landing itself was a near-catastrophe, with the plane landing far too fast and nearly colliding with other parked planes.

The ‘fat man’ bomb design used for Nagasaki, was highly significant, as it was the ‘implosion’ type which was tested at Trinity (the ‘gun type’ (‘little boy’) design used in Hiroshima was untested). The ‘implosion’ design, in which a ‘grapefruit’ of plutonium wedges are rammed together by precisely timed high explosive just as a burst of neutrons is released, creating a prompt critical configuration, has become the classic design for all fission weapons, and for the fission triggers of fusion weapons ever since.

‘Prompt’ casualty figures range between initial estimates of 37,000 to 70,000 (much later Japanese estimates). Either way, they are significantly lower than the casualties for Hiroshima (approx 166,000), in large part because the dead flat site of Hiroshima allowed the bomb there to incinerate a much wider area of the city, initiating a classic nuclear firestorm, and because the Nagasaki bomb was to have been dropped on the downtown of Nagasaki but was instead dropped on the Urakami Valley, where nonetheless important Mitsubishi factories were located, as well as the Urakami cathedral. Nagasaki’s hills and valleys did not allow the explosion to affect as wide an area as in Hiroshima in spite of the fact that whereas the Hiroshima weapons was of 15Kt, the Nagasaki bomb was 25Kt.

Nonetheless, in terms of actual bomb design it was the Nagasaki bomb that would be the design pattern for all future bombs, both Fission and Fusion.

With the world poised more perilously on the brink of the nuclear abyss than it has ever been for longer than it has ever been, and with nuclear threats and threats of the destruction of both cities (London, Paris, New York) and of entire countries (UK) emanating from one possessor of more nuclear weapons than anyone else, the events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki both in 1945, merit far far more attention, and much deeper reflection, than they are getting.

 

The Nagasaki peace declaration follows:

2024 Nagasaki Peace Declaration

 

Nagasaki Peace Declaration

The people who make the atomic bomb!

Rest your hands for a while, and hold your eyes

August nine, 1945!

In the atomic bomb you made

Tens of thousands of precious lives are lost

Household goods come home in an instant

A peaceful family has been destroyed

Who is left

I must wake up from nothing

A hard path to a bloody life

Anxiety about “atomic disease” that does not know tomorrow

And the infinite grief of losing his immediate family.

I’ll keep my tail.

This is a poem written by Sumako Fukuda, a poet from Nagasaki, who was exposed at the age of 23 and complained of the misery of the atomic bomb while fighting the atomic bomb.

Deep sadness of losing family and friends, scars left on the body, the effects of radiation that continues to erode cells over a long period of time and causes various diseases, discrimination and hardships of A-bomb survivors. The atomic bomb afflicted A-bomb survivors not only after the bombing, but also throughout their lives.

Nevertheless, the A-bomb survivors continue to talk about their experiences that survived with hardships, with a strong determination to “do not allow anyone in the world to have the same experience again.”
79 years have passed since the atomic bombing. We human beings have adhered to the humanitarian norms that “we must not use nuclear weapons.” However, the expansion of nuclear weapons is accelerating, with the development and deployment of nuclear weapons that are supposed to be used in battlefields.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is no end, and there is concern about the expansion of armed conflict in the Middle East, the important norms that have been observed so far may be lost. We are in the face of such a crisis.

At the end of the poem, Mr. Fukuda called:

The people who make the atomic bomb!

Don’t hesitate now

I will give up everything in my hand

For the first time, true peace was born.

Humans can be revived as human beings.

The leaders of the nuclear weapon states and the countries under the nuclear umbrella. Because of the existence of nuclear weapons, we must face the reality that the threat to humankind is increasing, and we must make a major shift toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. To that end, please visit the A-bombed cities and accept the pain and thoughts of the A-bomb survivors as one person, with your conscience. And no matter how steep it is, we call for a way to a peaceful solution through dialogue and diplomatic efforts, rather than choosing military expansion and threats.

The Japanese government, the only country that has suffered atomic bombings, should demonstrate its sincere commitment to pursuing a world without nuclear weapons. To that end, we urge you to sign and ratify the Nuclear Weapons Convention as soon as possible. We urge you to adhere to the principles of peace in the Constitution and to demonstrate leadership in easing tensions and disarmament in this region, such as the Northeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Initiative.

Furthermore, we strongly urge the further enhancement of support for A-bomb survivors whose average age is over 85 years old, and to provide as soon as possible relief for those who have not yet been recognised as hibakusha.

Everyone around the world, we are “global citizens” who live in a big city called the earth.

Imagine it. What will happen when the conflicts that are occurring in the world are intensified and nuclear war breaks out? It has a devastating impact not only on human life but also the global environment, and human beings are threatened to survive.

That is why the abolition of nuclear weapons is the prerequisite for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the international community aims to achieve.

Here in Nagasaki, too, many years, centred on the younger generation, has become even more active toward a world without nuclear weapons. In May this year, a subcommittee on the theme of peace at One Young World, an international conference called the Davos Conference for Youth, was held in Nagasaki.

The young generation of the world plays a leading role in solidarity, and the circle of action is spreading in various places. It is the light of hope to build a sustainable and peaceful future.

People who make peace!

Each person is weak, but it is not helpless.

If we, the global citizens raise their voices and work together, we can overcome the current difficult situation. If we share wisdom across borders, religion, race, gender, and generation, we can realise the future we envision. Nagasaki believes so strongly.

I would like to express my sincere condolences to those who died in the atomic bomb.

Nagasaki respects others, foster trust, and spread the culture of peace around the world, which seeks to resolve others, foster trust, and disseminate the culture of peace throughout the world, which seeks to resolve through discussions. We hereby declare that we will continue to act toward the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realisation of permanent world peace in order to make Nagasaki the last atomic bombed city.

August 9, 2024 (Reiwa 6)
Mayor of Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki