No More Nagasakis

In a speech delivered in Japanese at Cornell University, atomic bomb survivor Tomokazu Ihara describes the bombing of his home city of Nagasaki in 1945, traces his activism against nuclear proliferation, and issues an impassioned plea for a world without nuclear weapons.
Cornell Global Perspectives is an imprint of Cornell University's Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. The works examine critical global challenges, often from an interdisciplinary perspective, and are intended for a non-specialist audience. The Distinguished Speaker Series presents edited transcripts of talks delivered at Cornell, both in the original language and in translation.

Toyokazu Ihara was nine years old when U.S. forces dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. He was in the mountains that day, but his family was not so lucky. His mother, sister, and brothers all died from radiation exposure sustained during rescue work following the bombing. Ihara went on to become a union organizer, longtime city councilor, and international peace activist.