“While I’ve seen pictures of children who were victims of Hiroshima, but to hear these people talk was extremely graphic and sad,” said Ko Yada ’07.
Yada said that members of his family fought on both the Japanese and American sides of World War II.
Visiting Professor of Anthropology Yasuko Takezawa, who is on leave from Kyoto University, attended the presentation with her husband and young daughter.
“I have great respect for the speakers,” she said. “The desire [of the hibakusha] to be the last people to experience nuclear attack, that keeps me coming back.”
Tufts Professor Hosea Hirata, who organized the conference, said its goals were to heighten awareness of issues surrounding nuclear arms and to prompt teaching and learning on the subject. The conference is also timed to coincide with the United Nations’ Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review session on May 2.
“Bush has been saying that it was a mistake to sign the treaty,” Hirata said.