Talk:Hibakusha

Statistics
See/review/update subpage:
 * /Numbers of Hibakusha section

Can this be its own page?
There is a lot about this that I would like to understand.

In The Good War by Studs Turkel there is mention on pg. 538-542.

Discrimination
Why are hibakusha discriminated against? I just cannot understand why this would be the case. If anyone with an insight into this could expand the entry to explain the justification for this kind of discrimination, I would be greatful. —Preceding unsigned comment added by PhennPhawcks (talk • contribs)
 * A quote from John Hersey's Hiroshima -- "Non-hibakusha employers developed a prejudice against the survivors as word got around that they were prone to all sorts of ailments, and that even those[...] who were not cruelly maimed and had not developed any serious overt symptoms were unreliable workers, since most of them seemed to suffer[...] from the mysterious but real malaise that came to be known as one kind of A-bomb sickness: a nagging weakness and weariness, dizziness now and then, digestive troubles, all aggravated by a feeling of oppression, a sense of doom, for it was said that unspeakable diseases might at any time plant nasty flowers in the bodies of their victims, and even those of their descendents." (pp. 93). Towards the end of the book it talks about the discrimination against hibakusha; you may want to take a look. - S. Komae (talk) 16:25, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

As of 2006?
By the way, has the number alive on 31 March 2006 been published, or do they wait till August? —wwoods 06:33, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Project Assessment
The picture and quotes are very moving, but surely there must be more that can be put here. Describe the discrimination in fuller detail, the symptoms and effects experienced today by those still alive... are there any sort of associations, organizations, political lobbies? Are there special clinics or self-help centers or anything like that? LordAmeth 18:23, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

World War Z
A (obviously fictional) hibakusha is VERY prominently feautured in the World War Z book by Max Brooks. In addition to surviving the zombies and all, he tells about his experience with the bomb (which blinded him) and the prejudices people had against him afterward. Should it be mentioned on this page?
 * No. That isn't real.  People who survived Nagasaki or Hiroshima appear in fiction all the time because it's a poignant element.  74.192.158.110 (talk) 06:53, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

The Monk/survivors who survived the blast/impact?
Can anyone elaborate who was the Buddhist monk who was very close to the blast area when the Hiroshima bomb went off and lived to tell the tale? Secondly who was the survivor nearest to the blast and continued to live for years afterwards? Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.--Redblossom 17:30, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Testimony of Akira Onogi
I've removed the section "Testimony of Akira Onogi" - the source site specifies a Creative Commons license that restricts commerical use. -- Whpq 00:16, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Atomic Veterans
How about Atomic Veterans? Shouldn't it be mentioned? Oda Mari 05:50, 31 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Certainly not in the article but perhaps in See Also. The link you cite is relevant but not particularly informative. Also, relative amount of suffering is a value judgement but does your ref belong here? Perhaps in Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki instead? Franamax 02:09, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Merge discussion
Even though this is the main article, the information about hibakusha in the hibakusha section of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is actually much more detailed (and better written) in the hibakusha section of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since that article is already quite long, woudn't it be better to merge that information into this article, and create a stronger article by combining that information with the lists of information here. XinJeisan (talk) 00:44, 8 January 2010 (UTC)
 * These are technically two different, but related, subjects: One article is about an event, the other article is about people. My preference would be to expand and develop the Hibakusha article. Certainly there is more that can be said about them.Dave (talk) 01:15, 8 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Sorry, the template was unclear. I am not proposing to merge the entire article, just the specific section about hibakusha of the Atomic Bombings article into this one. XinJeisan (talk) 01:23, 8 January 2010 (UTC)
 * My apologies as well. Yes, I understand now, with the template changes. I though you were proposing a complete merge of the articles. I support the idea of using content from the bombing article to expand the hibakusha article. I say just do it, I don't think any reasonable person would oppose. Dave (talk) 01:45, 8 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Please do not take anything away from the article Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in whatever merge is completed. The material there is already presented as a summary, so there is no need to reduce it further. I have no problem whatever with that text brought here to help flesh out this article. Binksternet (talk) 01:48, 8 January 2010 (UTC)

Agree, don't remove content from Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but copy all the stuff that is in that article to this one and and filter it in. Ranger Steve (talk) 09:38, 8 January 2010 (UTC)

So, that is what I did. However, this article still needs a major rewrite. This article has a lot of lists, but not a lot of information. Hopefully other people will join me in filling out this article in the next couple of weeks. XinJeisan (talk) 09:24, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Survivor vs Victim
Recent edits have altered between using survivor and victim. For me at least, victim means anyone negatively affected by an event (dead+injured), while survivor means affected, but survived. In my opinion, the recent edits have made the article more confusing for readers. Hohum 19:17, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
 * They might have been survived the actual bombing, but many survivors died later. I don't think the word survivor is appropriate. Because the word ignores the aftereffects and connotes "lucky ones". As for the woman in the image used in the article, she didn't die soon after the bombing, but we don't know how long did she live after the picture was taken. She could have been dead in weeks or months. Radiation poisoning, precisely " internal exposure", takes time and kills people. A lot of people died of leukemia and cancer caused by radiation. There are/were people who couldn't regain their health by the aftereffects of radiation among survivors. See Effects of nuclear explosions on human health. And see the images in the fourth row. The girl died of cancer in 1965 and the boy died in 1949. Translation is here. I think they were the victims of the atomic bombing. Oda Mari (talk) 06:55, 6 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I realise the points you have made. So, are Hibakusha people who survived the initial explosion, or only those that survived a certain amount of time, or what? It seems pretty obvious to me that they were people that were affected, but survived the initial aftermath, which makes them victims (but the dead will be referred to as victims in the article too, so that term would be be inconsistent) and survivors - the latter being an individual description for them. Irrespective of your feeling that the word survivor means "lucky ones", it's the correct word to describe them with. The main article makes it clear that they endured significant issues by surviving.
 * To sum up. In an article about Hibakusha, who are specifically identified as people who survived the bombings; they should generally be referred to as survivors, because using the term victim logically mixes them up with the dead. Hohum  15:26, 6 February 2010 (UTC)
 * The word hibakusha is a neutral word and simply means "explosion-affected person". Hi/被 is "receive", baku/爆 is explosion, and sha/者 is person. Nothing more and nothing less. There's no implication of survivor or victim in Japanese. I think the definition used at the very beginning of the article "The surviving victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki " is the most appropriate phrase to describe them. They are survivor and victim at the same time. Thinking about the number of death and the long lasting aftereffects of radiation of hibakush, I don't think they were lucky. I just restored a long, stable version. If you think the word victim is not appropriate and want to change it, please find a more neutral and suitable English word for hibakusha and ask for consensus. It's a matter of English wording and I cannot be helpful. Regards. Oda Mari (talk) 06:28, 7 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks, good feedback. I'll puzzle over whether there is a better way to phrase it than current. Hohum  15:28, 7 February 2010 (UTC)
 * As a student of Chinese, I would translate the three characters as "bombed person". 108.39.228.98 (talk) 20:30, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

LSS cohort
By far the largest dataset in existence regarding the long-term health effects of ionizing radiation in humans comes from the Hibakusha. It would be useful to include a section on the "LSS cohort" and the impact it has had on international standards for radiation protection. An editor looking for something to do could look up "LSS cohort" on google to find some references.--Yannick (talk) 03:07, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

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"worldwide democratisation"
What is this please? used twice. --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 14:12, 27 May 2019 (UTC)

"within 2 km of the hypocenters within two weeks of the bombings"
does this mean within 2 weeks after the bombings? Would it then include aid workers, military, doctors, nurses, relatives? --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 14:14, 27 May 2019 (UTC)

"Hibakusha at (age at time of bombing)"
The reader notices that most of the Japanese survivors are 'aged' but none of the non-Japanese. Given that all the linked articles give date of birth, is there a reason some are not done?--Richardson mcphillips (talk) 14:47, 27 May 2019 (UTC)