At the beginning of June, two survivors of the atomic bombings (hibakusha) spoke at a gathering in Friends House, Central London.
Toshiko Tanaka, a survivor of Hiroshima, told the gathering: ‘I would like to tell the people they call “world leaders”, who are interested in their own national interests… that in fact we live on something akin to a spaceship; a ship where we can spend our time fighting over borders, over resources, and if we do so then the spaceship and the life on it will suffer.’
Tadayoshi Ogawa, a survivor of Nagasaki, is a photographer who runs a project called ‘Lest We Forget’. People are invited to take a photo every year (at 11.02am on 9 August) of anything they hope will be preserved for future generations.
The event was organised by Quakers in Britain, CND and the Japan-based NGO Peace Boat, which organises global voyages to promote peace, human rights and sustainability. Tanaka and Ogawa came to London on board the Peace Boat.