A Japanese survivor of the Hiroshima nuclear bombing has spoken about his experiences for the first time. Mikio Saiki was present when more than 70,00 people died in the attack, followed by thousands more who became ill from radiation sickness and often horrific burns. The 92-year-old Hiroshima native has finally opened up about what he saw on August 6, 1945, when the United States launched its final ferocious assault on Japan, ending World War II.
Saiki recalled that he was about to put on his shoes when he saw a blindingly bright flash of light, which turned to darkness as his home collapsed around him. He was 13 years old and lived with his family just two kilometers from the explosion’s epicenter. Mr. Saiki recently told his story to a group of Japanese students and told them that for years, he felt guilty for surviving.
Describing the aftermath, the survivor somberly stated that he saw charred bodies littering the streets and buildings obliterated. Some people had suffered severe burns or loss of limbs, while others were so seriously injured and burned that they became known as “alligator people” – to reflect the condition of their skin.
Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, the United States launched a second atomic attack on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, causing comparable damage and years of radiation sickness among survivors. Yasujiro Tanaka, who was three at the time, said he remembers “a million cameras going off at once,” followed by an intense heat.
Masakatsu Obata also survived Nagasaki and later described people with their skin “melted off” and with faces swollen to more than double their size. Ms. Obata recalled feeling violently ill from poisonous gas and vomiting uncontrollably.
On September 2, 1945, on board the USS Missouri, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamora Shigemitsu and military general Yoshijiro Umezu signed Japan’s unconditional surrender. Senior US officials also signed the official Instrument of Surrender before it made its way to the White House for President Harry S. Truman’s formal acceptance. It was then transferred to the National Archives, where it remains today.
