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Dreaming of a world with no nuclear bombs

But 73 years after 1st atomic blast, obstacles to disarmament remain

Mr Kosei Mito, a volunteer guide at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the past 12 years, tells visitors of the horrors of an atomic bombing.
Children praying for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on the 73rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS
Mr Setsuo Uchino does not think he will get to see a world free of nuclear weapons in his lifetime. Children praying for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on the 73rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of the c
Mr Kosei Mito, a volunteer guide at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the past 12 years, tells visitors of the horrors of an atomic bombing.
Mr Setsuo Uchino does not think he will get to see a world free of nuclear weapons in his lifetime. Children praying for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on the 73rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of the c
Mr Setsuo Uchino does not think he will get to see a world free of nuclear weapons in his lifetime.
The Hiroshima Red Cross & Atomic-bomb Survivors Hospital played a key role in relief efforts after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1945. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Students view exhibits at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum in Nagasaki City, Japan, on July 19, 2018. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
A worker at a factory 1.3km from the atomic bomb's hypocentre in Nagasaki was wearing this white shirt when he was exposed to the bombing on Aug 9, 1945. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
A lunch box owned by Satoko Tsutsumi, who was 14 at the time of the atomic bombing, is displayed at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Residents offering prayers for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, on Aug 6, 2018. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
People offering a minute of silent prayers for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, on Aug 6, 2018. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
A general view of the Peace Memorial Park (centre) as people attend the 73rd anniversary memorial service for the atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima on Aug 6, 2018. PHOTO: AFP
A girl releases paper lanterns on the Motoyasu river facing the gutted Atomic Bomb Dome in remembrance of atomic bomb victims on the 73rd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, on Aug 6, 2018. PHOTO: REUTERS
Walter Sim Japan Correspondent In Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Updated
Oct 25, 2018, 03:46 PM
Published
Aug 07, 2018, 05:00 AM
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Mr Kosei Mito cycles around the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with a singular mission in mind: To tell visitors what he thinks is missing from the official narrative behind the atomic bombing that levelled his city on Aug 6, 1945.

His mother Tomie, now 100, was four months pregnant with him when the bomb, code-named "Little Boy", was dropped. Three days later, "Fat Man" was detonated over Nagasaki.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 07, 2018, with the headline Dreaming of a world with no nuclear bombs. Subscribe

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