Hiroshima atomic bomb museum renews message of peaceーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS

Key Concepts

• Doomsday Clock: A symbolic clock representing the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, currently set at 90 seconds (referenced as 85 in the transcript) to midnight.
• Hibakusha: The Japanese term for the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• Nuclear Taboo: The international norm and moral prohibition against the use of nuclear weapons.
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum: An institution dedicated to documenting the 1945 atomic bombing and advocating for nuclear abolition.

The Urgency of the New Exhibit

In the context of rising global tensions—specifically conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East—the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight. This heightened state of global anxiety has prompted the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to launch a new exhibit featuring the testimonies of Hibakusha. The museum, which saw a record 2.6 million visitors this fiscal year (over one-third being international), aims to reinforce the "nuclear taboo" that has prevented the use of atomic weapons since 1945.

Museum Structure and Narrative Flow

The museum utilizes a specific pedagogical framework to guide visitors through the history and consequences of nuclear warfare:

1. Scale of Destruction: The journey begins with displays illustrating the physical devastation of the 1945 bombings.
2. Human Cost: Personal artifacts, such as clothing worn by victims, are used to humanize the statistics of the tragedy.
3. Historical Context: Subsequent sections detail the development of nuclear technology and the subsequent history of the peace movement.
4. The Final Message: The new exhibit is strategically placed at the very end of the visitor’s path. By positioning the Hibakusha testimonies last, the museum ensures that the emotional weight of the survivors' experiences serves as the final, lasting takeaway for the public.

Survivor Testimonies and Methodology

The museum spent over a year conducting new interviews to capture firsthand accounts that cannot be conveyed through artifacts alone.

• Morishita Hiromu: A survivor who was 14 at the time of the bombing, whose testimony is featured to provide a visceral, personal perspective on the event.
• Yahata Teruko: A featured survivor who emphasizes that the goal of the exhibit is for visitors to carry the feelings of the victims in their hearts, fostering a "renewed commitment to peace."

Key Arguments and Perspectives

• The Fragility of the Nuclear Taboo: Museum representatives and experts argue that the long-standing global consensus against nuclear weapons is weakening due to contemporary geopolitical conflicts.
• The "Ever-Present" Nature of the Bombing: A recurring theme is that the impact of the atomic bomb is not confined to August 1945. As one survivor noted, the tragedy is defined by "what’s been happening ever since," highlighting the long-term health, social, and psychological effects on survivors.
• Incompatibility: The core message of the museum is that humanity and nuclear weapons are fundamentally incompatible and cannot coexist.

Conclusion and Takeaways

The primary objective of the new exhibit is to preserve the voices of the Hibakusha while they are still alive, as their passing represents a loss of primary historical evidence. By forcing visitors to confront the human reality of nuclear war immediately before exiting, the museum seeks to transform passive observation into an active, personal commitment to the abolition of nuclear weapons. The exhibit serves as a final plea: that no one else should ever endure the experiences of those who survived the atomic bombings.