Shigemi Fukahori, survivor of 1945 Nagasaki atomic bombing, dies at 93

The survivor of the 1945 Nagasaki atomic bombing, identified as Shigemi Fukahori, died at the age of 93. Fukahori, who had devoted his life to peace, breathed his last at a hospital in Nagasaki, southwestern Japan on January 3, the Urakami Catholic Church said on Sunday. According to local media reports, he died of old age.

The Urakami Catholic Church is located about 500 meters from ground zero and is close to the Nagasaki Peace Park. The church, where Fukahori prayed almost daily until last year, is seen as a symbol of hope and peace as its bell tower and some statues and survived the nuclear bombing.

When Japan was attacked with nuclear bombs by the United States during the second World War in 1945, Fukahori was only 14. The bomb on Nagasaki was dropped on August 9, 1945, killing tens of thousands of people, including his family.

“On the day the bomb dropped, I heard a voice asking for help. When I walked over



and held out my hand, the person's skin melted. I still remember how that felt,” Fukahori told Japan's national broadcaster NHK in 2019.

That came three days after the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, which killed 140,000 people. Japan surrendered days later, ending World War II and the country's nearly half-century of aggression across Asia.

Fukahori, who worked at a shipyard about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from where the bomb dropped, couldn't talk about what happened for years, not only because of the painful memories but also how powerless he felt then.

About 15 years ago, he became more outspoken after encountering, during a visit to Spain, a man who experienced the bombing of Guernica in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War when he was also 14 years old. The shared experience helped Fukahori open up. He often addressed students, hoping they take on what he called “the baton of peace,” in reference to his advocacy.