Dispatches from Nagasaki No.16
The Reaction in Nagasaki to President Obama’s Visit to Hiroshima
Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States, spoke at Hiroshima. It was the first time that a sitting U.S. president, representing the country that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki, the possessor of the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, had come to visit one site of the destruction. There was much interest in this visit in Nagasaki as well, the other site of the destruction. Mr. Tomihisa Taue, Mayor of Nagasaki, was one of the first to welcome Mr. Obama’s decision to visit Hiroshima. The mayor expressed his hope is that this event would send a clear message to the world about the need to promote nuclear disarmament.
After the president left for the next stop on his journey, Mr. Taue added that Mr. Obama would certainly be welcome to visit Nagasaki, even as a private citizen after the end of his term, where, the mayor hoped, he would meet with hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombing, in Nagasaki and engage in a dialogue with people active in the anti-nuclear weapon movement in that city as well. Mr. Taue stressed the importance of having leaders and top diplomats of nations around the world actually visit these sites, where they could see for themselves the “reality” of an atomic bombing.
The people of Nagasaki all pretty much spoke in favor of Mr. Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, at least with regards to the visit itself. Yoshitoshi Fukahori (87), a hibakusha and now chairperson for the Committee for Photographs and Materials of the Atomic Bombing (Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace), said this of the president: “He was not able to say it in words, but I do think he expressed his regrets for what happened then.” Others include this comment by Shohei Tsuiki, an 89-year-old hibakusha: “I’m grateful that he came, and I did feel a sense of apology.” (Nagasaki Shimbun, May 27).
With regards to the speech itself, some expressed dissatisfaction. Sakue Shimohira (81), a hibakusha and director of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, said: “Even a little would have been enough, I just wanted some word of apology” (Nagasaki Shimbun, May 27). Hideo Tsuchiyama (91), former President of Nagasaki University and a hibakusha himself, spoke of his disappointment: “[President Obama] didn’t touch on concrete efforts toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.” (Nagasaki Shimbun, May 28). Hayato Kawano (22), a fourth-year student at Nagasaki University who is active in the anti-nuclear-weapon movement in Nagasaki and went to hear Mr. Obama in Hiroshima, said “I really wanted him to chart some path toward nuclear disarmament, some practical process for getting us there.”(Nagasaki Shimbun, May 27).
In a 4 June public lecture on nuclear disarmament organized by the PCU (Prefecture City University) Nagasaki Council, a hibakusha had this to say: “The contents of [President Obama’s] speech were wonderful. But still, he was up there talking like a commentator, without expressing any sense of responsibility as the president of a nuclear superpower.” Another was particularly harsh in his assessment: “I cannot accept that President Obama brings his nuclear briefcase to the site of an atomic bombing and shows it off for all to see. It was a desecration of the memory of all hibakusha.”
Generally speaking, Mr. Obama’s visit to Hiroshima was favorably regarded as a “historical first step,” but his speech that followed did not meet up to the high expectations for it, instead leaving behind a pervading dissatisfaction along the lines of “I wish he would’ve said something deeper.”
Looking to the future, Mayor Taue expressed his desire that Mr. Obama also visit Nagasaki, even after leaving office, and there take the time to hold direct dialogues with hibakusha and the next generation of people working for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Terumi Tanaka (84), a hibakusha and General Secretary of the Japan Confederation of A- and H- Bomb Sufferers Organizations, while assessing the visit as “a big first step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons,” is primarily interested in what happens from here, saying “now we will get to see just where this first step actually leads” (Nagasaki Shimbun, May 27). Similarly, Chisa Nishida (21), a fourth-year student at Nagasaki University and member of the committee that drafts the Nagasaki Peace Declaration, emphasizes that “this is the start line” (Asahi Shimbun, May 29), adding that what really counts is what specific policy measures will be applied toward the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons. It could be said that what the people of Nagasaki await now is not a few more words from President Obama, but rather some concrete action.
オバマ大統領広島訪問―長崎からの反応
オバマ大統領の広島訪問は、世界最大の核兵器国の一つであり、広島、長崎へ原爆を投下したアメリカの現職大統領による初めての被爆地訪問として、同じ被爆地の長崎においても高い関心を集めた。オバマ大統領による広島訪問が決定すると、早速長崎の田上市長もオバマ大統領の広島訪問を「心から歓迎」するとして、核軍縮の促進に向けて、明確なメッセージが発せられるのではないかと強い期待を表明した。
訪問後、田上市長は、任期終了後であってもオバマ大統領が長崎を訪問し、長崎の被ばく者を始め、長崎で核兵器廃絶に取り組んできた人々と対話する機会が来ることを強く希望する旨述べ、世界各国の指導者や外交官が、被爆地を訪問することで、「被ばくの実相」に自ら触れる機会を持つことの重要性を強調した。
長崎の人々の間からは、広島訪問自体については、評価する声がほとんどで、深堀好敏さん（87歳、被ばく者、長崎平和推進協会写真資料調査部会長）は「言葉にはできなかったのだろうが、申し訳なかったという思いが伝わった」、築城昭平さん（89歳、被ばく者）も「来てくれたことに謝罪の気持ちが込められている」と述べた。（長崎新聞2016年5月27日）しかし、スピーチの内容については、下平作江さん（81歳、被ばく者、長崎原爆被災者協議会理事）は「少しでもいいから謝罪の言葉が欲しかった」と不満を漏らし（長崎新聞2016年5月27日）、土山秀夫さん（91歳、被ばく者、元長崎大学長）は「核兵器廃絶へ向けての具体的な取り組みには触れていない」として期待外れだったと述べた。（長崎新聞2016年5月28日）また、長崎で核兵器廃絶運動に取り組み、広島でスピーチを直接聞いた河野早杜さん（23歳、長崎大学4年生）も「（どのように）核軍縮を進めてゆくのか具体的な道筋を示して欲しかった」と不満を述べた。（長崎新聞2016年5月27日）
また、6月4日に開催された核兵器廃絶長崎連絡協議会の「核兵器廃絶市民講座」に参加していた被ばく者の方からは、「スピーチの内容そのものは素晴らしかったが、まるで評論家のような立場で語っており、核大国の大統領としての責任を表明するものではなかった」、「オバマ大統領が、こともあろうに爆心地に核兵器の発射装置の鞄を見よがしに持ち込んだのは許せない。あれは被ばく者に対する冒涜だ」という厳しい本音も漏れた。
総じて、オバマ大統領が広島を訪問したこと自体は「歴史的な一歩」として歓迎しながらも、そこで行われたスピーチについては、期待が大きかっただけに、「もっと踏み込んだ発言が欲しかった」という物足りなさが漂う反応が目立った。
今後に向けて、田上市長は、大統領退任後であってもオバマ大統領にはぜひ長崎も訪問し、時間をかけて被ばく者や核兵器廃絶に取り組む若い世代の人々と直接対話する機会を設けて欲しいという期待を表明した。また、田中煕巳さん（84歳、被ばく者、日本原水爆被害者団体協議会事務局長）は、今回の訪問を「核廃絶に向け大きな一歩になった」としながらも「一歩の中身が問われるのはこれからだ」（長崎新聞2016年5月27日）と今後の動向を注視する姿勢を示した。同様に西田千紗さん（21歳、長崎大学4年、長崎市平和宣言起草委員）も「これがスタートライン」（朝日新聞2016年5月29日）と、これから核兵器廃絶へ向けて、実際にどのような政策が展開されるのかが重要だと指摘した。今後長崎の人々は、これまでよりも一層オバマ大統領の言葉ではなく、実行を厳しく見守っていくことになる。
