The Radiation Effects Research Foundation, run by both Japan and the United States, will launch a clinical survey later this month targetting some 12,000 children of atomic bomb survivors in the two cities. "I felt relieved when I saw my son born with no physical defects, but I am constantly worried that symptoms will develop in the future," said Sato, who lives in a nursing home for atomic bombing sufferers in Hiroshima. Kazue Sato, an 82-year-old survivor, still worries if her son or grandchildren may suffer cancer or leukemia as the result of their potential inheritance of abnormal genes.
US President Barack Obama, who was awarded the 2009 Peace Prize in part for his efforts to pursue nuclear disarmament, is in Seoul for the G20 summit before attending a meeting of Pacific-rim leaders in Yokohama at the weekend.Īn estimated 140,000 people died instantly in Hiroshima or succumbed to burns and radiation sickness soon after the blast, and over 70,000 perished as a result of the Nagasaki attack three days later. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is among the guest speakers. Hiroshima is back in the spotlight this week as Nobel Peace laureates gather there to call for the end of nuclear weapons in the city obliterated in the world's first ever nuclear attack.
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The health and welfare ministry has no plans to offer free cancer screening to the second generation, citing a lack of evidence linking older family members' radiation exposure and the emergence of diseases in their children. "The fear is of the unknown, as radiation is invisible, you cannot sense it," 52-year-old Hirano, a school teacher who is also secretary-general of the Japan second-generation atomic bomb sufferers' association, told AFP. "Some experts say there is no effect on our second generations, but I don't believe that," said Hirano, whose mother suffered two miscarriages which he believes were a result of her exposure to radiation from the attack.Īround 240,000 people are officially recognised as hibakusha and are granted free medical treatment, but many more in the two cities suffering from illnesses they say are related to the attacks are seeking the recognition.
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