1. How did the Japanese people feel about McArthur.
We all know about him as a top leader of GHQ.
"People were shocked by one picture on a newspaper, which McArthur and
the emperor were on it together. McArthur was standing with his hand in his
pocket and with his pipe between his lips. People realized actually Japan
was defeated and one period ended. The western taste was fresh and new."
(One of survivors)
2.What actually happened during the 2 seconds when the bomb went off? How did it feel?
"The strong flash light caught everything in a beam, nobody knew what
happened. Everything was burned out, buildings fell down, people were
creeping, some were diving into the river searching for water, sky became
dark and it started raining, a black rain. It was nothing but a hell.
The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. on August 6,1945,
exploded 580 meters (about 2000 feet) over the city with a blinding flash,
creating a fireball that blazed like a small sun. More than a million degrees
Celsius at its center, in one second the fireball reached a maximum diameter of
280 meters, and the surface temperatures in the vicinity of the hypocenter rose to
3,000-4,000 degrees Celsius.
Fierce heat rays and radiation burst out in every direction, expanding the air
around the fireball and creating a super high-pressure blast. These three factors
interacted in complex way to inflicted tremendous damage.
The damage inflict by the atomic bomb was characterized by instant and
massive destruction, indiscriminate mass slaughter, and radiation. Radiation
damage led to decades of human suffering." (The sprit of Hiroshima)
3.How long did it take to restore Hiroshima and the economy? (recovery in general)
At the first time, it's said there wouldn't grow any tree or grass here
more than 70 years, but later on a new bud came up from the burned tree.
Then people swore to reproduce Hiroshima.
"Because the war was still on, restoration of the ruined city with its military
facilities, particularly communication and postal functions, was a high priority.
Immediately following the bombing, work began toward reopening major
thoroughfares, restoring railways and streetcars, and restoring communications
and electric power. When the end of the war on August 15 dissolved the
military, the main force for restoration disappeared. The work was temporarily
suspended, but assistance from cities, towns , and villages around the prefecture
enabled Hiroshima City to continue moving toward recovery.
The atomic bombing plunged the people of Hiroshima to the depth of physical
deprivation and psychological despair. Those who had survived the bombing
were joined by soldiers and civilians returning to the city from overseas or from
rural evacuation sites to find their homes and workplaces destroyed. Simply
clothing and everyday necessities were almost impossible to find. All faced
hunger and runaway inflation, but those who had been exposed were also
struggling with various disorders caused by the bomb.
During this period of confusion following the bombing, as all of Japan
struggled through the tumultuous transition from surrender to life under
occupation, the people of Hiroshima began to rebuild their lives, hampered by
scarcities of food, money and materials. Nevertheless, on August 5, 1946,
exactly one year after the bombing, the people comforted the souls of dead and
vowed to restore the city at a Peace Restoration Festival. The magnitude of the
task, however, was staggering.
Evacuated groups were dismissed from September to November 1945,
but many children returned from their evacuation sites to find their families dead
and food shortage worse than during the war. The number of A-bomb orphans is
unknown, but estimates range from 2,000 to 6,500. Some were sheltered by war
casualty children’s homes, but many, dazed by perpetual grief over their lost
families, suffered terrible hardships.
School classes resumed in September in surviving school buildings and other
structures. The imperial script on Education and other vestiges of wartime
militaristic schooling were repudiated as the country turned 180 degrees based on
democratic principles. Unacceptable sections in textbooks were blacked out.
Instruction in Japanese history , geography, and martial arts ceased.
Schools fell into great confusion. In April 1947, "national elementary schools"
became "elementary schools" based on a School Education Law that remains in
effect today .
Some survivors still suffer the aftereffects of A-bomb radiation. Relief and
rescue operation began immediately after the bombing, but during the occupation
information about the A-bomb was censored and research into A-bomb-related
disorders was greatly hampered by a press code enforced by the General
Headquarters of the Occupation Forces (GHQ). This press code prevented
society at large from recognizing the dire circumstances of the survivors.
Thus, survivors received no special assistance beyond the Daily Life Security
Law and other provisions of the general welfare system.
After the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed in 1951, a seeking campaign
relief for A-bomb survivors gradually gathered momentum. Then in 1954 a
fishing boat, the 5th Fukuryu-maru ( Lucky Dragon ), was exposed to radioactive
fallout from a hydrogen bomb test. The Bikini Incident, as it came to be known,
greatly strengthened efforts among the Japanese to ban atomic and hydrogen
bombs, simultaneously enhancing public understanding of the need to offer
special assistance to A-bomb survivors. The A-bomb Survivors Special Medical
Care Law was finally enacted in 1957, and the A-bomb Survivors Special
Measure Law of 1968 provided higher levels of assistance.
These two measures were integrated in 1994 by the Atomic Bomb Survivors’
Support Law, which made the national government clearly responsible for
comprehensive assistance to survivors, including health management, medical
care, and welfare measures.
When the war ended, the many ideas for restoring the city set forth by the
government and private citizens made for spirited debate. The official plan for
restoring the city was determined during the autumn of 1946, but lack of funding
delayed implementation of the projects.
The funding barrier was broken by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City
Construction Law enacted in 1949. Supported by this law, the city began building
Peace Memorial Park , Hundred-Meter Boulevard, new bridges, and public
housing. The infrastructure for a new Hiroshima began to take shape.
The Korean War created special demand, but its end brought a period of
depression. In the mid-1950s, Japan moved into a period of rapid economic
growth, and in 1958, the population of Hiroshima reached its prewar level of
410,000." (The sprit of Hiroshima)
4.Were the Japanese happy with the new constitution?
This constitution was made more than 50 years ago, so there are some words
not too sophisticated. Actually there has some voice to change, this topic
is discussed in the Diet all the time.
Generally speaking, the new constitution was received, because people had been
bothered with dictatorship and militarism.
5.Did they have problems after McArthur left following the new constitution?
If so, what were they?
Many people accepted it in good favor, because it recites renunciation of
war, right to vote , democracy ,equality etc.
6.How did McArthur get the Japanese to make the changes he wanted?
At the end of the World War Two, Japanese people were exhausted from
fighting , They accepted the control of GHQ in exchange for peace.
He didn’t punish the emperor whom Japanese respect.
7.What happened when McArthur left the country?
He left Japan in 1952, until then all media (TV radio magazine) were
censored to prevent any war. We could speak freely on the media since then.
During Korean war , McAthur made the Japan Self Defense Force in order to
prevent the communists from invading the western world.
8.Would the Japanese still have a war if they had an army?
Thanks to constitution article 9, we decided not to fight any more. We don't have
military (only self defense force) . We might have war unless we had article 9.
9. Does the ceremony put on by the Folded Crane Club still exist and who does it?
Paper cranes are a symbol of peace in Hiroshima since Sadako has gone, many
people visit here with them to commemorate A-bomb victims and pray for
world peace.
The Club still exists. They work for A-bomb victims and clean The Children’s
A-bomb Statue. Ichiro Kawamoto is over 70 years old, he has organized
and helped the Folded Paper Crane Club and to build The Children’s A-bomb
Statue.
He donates his life to A-bomb victims. He is inconspicuous, but he let children
go out to the front. I think he is one of the most respectable and important
people when we talk about Hiroshima.
He doesn’t have a phone. His address is here. A lot of paper cranes are sent to
the address from all over the world.
Mr. Ichiro Kawamoto
22-58-508 Nishi-Hakushima Nakaku
Hiroshima 7300000 JAPAN