A survivor of the bombing of Nagasaki, who devoted his life to promoting peace, has died at 93
Shigemi Fukahori, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945, who dedicated his life to advocating peace and the fight against nuclear weapons, has died. He was 93 years old.
Fukahori died in a hospital in Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, on January 3, according to a Sunday statement from the Urakami Catholic Church, where he prayed almost daily until last year. The church, located about 500 meters from ground zero and near Nagasaki’s Peace Park, is widely regarded as a symbol of hope and peace, as its bell tower and some statues survived the nuclear bombing.
Fukahori was 14 when the US dropped the bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, killing tens of thousands of people, including his family. It came three days after the nuclear attack on Hiroshima that killed 140,000 people. Japan surrendered a few days later, ending World War II and nearly half a century of that country’s aggression across Asia.
Fukahori, who worked at a shipyard three kilometers from where the bomb fell, has been unable to talk about what happened for years, both because of the painful memories and because of how powerless he felt at the time.
About 15 years ago, he became more open after a visit to Spain where he met a man who had experienced the bombing of Guernica in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War when he was also 14 years old. The shared experience helped Fukahori open up.
Fukahori often talked to students
“On the day the bomb fell, I heard a voice calling for help. When I approached and held out my hand, the person’s skin melted. I still remember how it felt,” Fukahori told Japan’s national broadcaster NHK in 2019.
He often addressed students, hoping to take over what he called “the baton of peace,” in reference to his advocacy.
When Pope Francis visited Nagasaki in 2019, Fukahori presented him with a wreath of white flowers. The following year, Fukahori represented the victims of the bomb at a ceremony, making his “pledge of peace,” saying, “I am determined to send our message to make Nagasaki the last place where an atomic bomb will ever be dropped.”
A wake is scheduled for Sunday and a funeral for Monday at Urakami Church, where his daughter will represent the family.
