“Anti-Nuclear,” “Peace,” and the Discourse on Atomic Bomb Damage

• Nakao Maika

  広島大学=科学史

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

• 3 「反核」「平和」と原爆被害をめぐる言説

Abstract

This article examines the media discourse concerning the damage caused by atomic bombings in Japan. It focuses on the occupation period, when the damage is said to have been concealed, and the 1950s, when the reality of the damage began to emerge in the media. In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombings were linked to “peace” in the context of reconstruction. The “peaceful” use of nuclear energy was sought and expectations were placed on atomic medicine in an attempt to link the bombings to medical progress. The damage caused by the atom bombs was thus seemingly forgotten. After the occupation, the damage became widely known but was perceived as something from the past; it did not lead to an anti-nuclear movement. In 1954, however, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru incident, caused by the United States’ hydrogen bomb testing, triggered the Japanese “anti-nuclear” movement. At the time, what people opposed was the military use of these weapons, not the “peaceful” use of atomic energy. By emphasizing the horror caused by the bombs, especially the link between exposure to radiation and deformities, the movement contributed to the discrimination of the survivors of the atomic bombings (hibakusha). In summary, the desire for the “peaceful” use of nuclear energy during the occupation and the “anti-nuclear” movement of the 1950s were involved in making the damage from the atomic bombings both visible and invisible. In the process, they contributed to the suffering of hibakusha.

Journal

• Peace Studies

  Peace Studies 57 (0), 57-79, 2021

  Peace Studies Association of Japan

Details

• CRID: 1390009454797600512
• NII Article ID: 130008149556
• DOI: 10.50848/psaj.57004
• ISSN: 24361054
• Text Lang: ja
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN
• Abstract License Flag: Allowed