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Hibakusha visiting the US
In response to offers from Hiroshima/Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Area and others, four Hibakusha have been telling their A-bomb experiences in order not to allow the devilish act to be repeated again on the Earth.
Delegates are: Mr.Shigeo Uemoto, Mr.Chise Kihara, Ms.Hiroko Mukai, Ms.Yasue Yamada
Schedule of Events for Hibakusha Delegation
July 26 Arrive Washington DC
July 27 & 28 participate in WILPF Conference
July 31 1 - 3PM Press Conference for opening of photo exhibit
August 1−3 Free time and radio/TV interviews
August 3 2 members of delegation leave for New Jersey (See Mid-Atlantic Delegation Schedule below)
August 4 6-8PM Opening Reception for photo exhibit at Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
August 5 Hiroshima/Nagasaki Commemoration 6-9 at Lincoln Memorial
August 6 Baltimore Hiroshima Commemoration 5:30PM
August 7 Atlantic Life Community & Childrens Peace Camp
August 8 Radiation Victims Panel Discussion
7:00-9::30 followed by Nagasaki Commemoration 10:00PM at White House
August 9 Visit Piscataway Indian Nation SunDance (Optional)
August 11 Leave Washington DC
Mid-Atlantic Delegation Schedule
August 4 Atlantic City, New Jersey
August 5 Princeton, NJ
August 6 Pennsauken, NJ
August 7 Newtown, Pennsylvania
August 8 Doylestown, PA
August 9 Philadelhia
August 10 Return to Washington and Leave August 11
Further details for Mid-Atlantic Delegation Schedule were released as follows:
For Immediate Release & Community Calendars
Japanese A Bomb Survivors to Visit Atlantic City Area To Speak about Abolishing Nuclear Weapons
Two Hibakusha, or Japanese atomic bomb survivors, will be speaking on Tuesday, August 4th, at 7:30 PM, at the Atlantic Friends Meetinghouse, Pitney Road, Absecon. They will be the featured guests for the Coalition for Peace and Justice's 17th annual Hiroshima Day Commemoration. They will give testimony about living through an A-bomb explosion. The will talk about their memories of the devastation caused by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. The will also promote the ongoing international Abolition 2000 campaign, a campaign to get all the nuclear nations of the world to sign a treaty by the year 2000 to begin the process to abolish all nuclear weapons the world. Recent events in India and Pakistan make the passage of nuclear abolition treaties more important than ever.
Also featured this year at the event will be a special appearance by Old Man Atom. From 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM, there will be a potluck dinner at the Meetinghouse. Both the potluck and the program are free of charge, and open to all members of the public.
The two Hibakusha who will be speaking at the Hiroshima Commemoration are: Mr. Shigeo Uemoto, and Ms Yasue Yamada. Mr. Uemoto is 70 years old. He lives in the Saitama Prefecture. On August 6th, 1945, at 7:15 AM, he was approximately four kilometers from the A-bomb's ground zero. Mr. Uemoto is a member of Saitama Hidankyo, one of the major organizations of A-bomb survivors in Japan. Ms. Yamada is 55 years old. She resides in the Nagasaki area. On August 9th, she was about two kilometers from the epicenter of the Nagasaki A-bomb. Even though she was only 3 years old at the time of the Nagasaki bomb, Ms. Yamada has vivid memories of the event, and will also talk about growing up in Japan as an A-bomb survivor. Because so many of the Hibakusha are now in their 60s, 70s and older, it is very important for people to hear their first hand testimony while there are still Hibakusha to talk about these events. Yamada and Uemoto speak only limited English, but will be accompanied by an interpreter. They will also be appearing at other events in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including: 8/5, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, 6:00 PM, 8/6, Cooper River Park, Camden, 6:00 PM, 8/7, Newton, Pennsylvania, and 8/8, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The Coalition for Peace and Justice is an affiliate of Peace Action, the country's largest grassroots peace group with over 60,000 members nationwide. The Coalition was founded in 1982 and has over 150 members in the Southern New jersey area, from Atlantic County to Salem County.
CONTACT: Coalition, Norm Cohen 886-7988/889-8667 Princeton, 8/6: Bob Moore 609-924-5022 Camden, 8/7: Rick Walnut 609-859-2785 Newton 8/8: Charley Peterson 215-968-0127 Doylestown 8/9: Bev Morgan 215-794-8295 Articles for August 98