50th Anniversary of the A-Bombings
Keeping Hope for Mankind's Future
In the landmark year of 1995, the 50th anniversary of World War Ⅱ, the mayor of Hiroshima, Takashi Hiraoka, stated, "This is an era in which we must think of global security. It is a time to foster human solidarity transcending national borders, to pool our wisdom, and to work together to establish world peace." He stressed, "It is important to look at the stark reality of war in terms of both aggrieved and aggriever so as to develop a common understanding of history."

Truths of the A-Bombing of Nagasaki
    In parallel with those of Hiroshima, tireless efforts have been maintained to discover the whole picture of the Nagasaki bombing. Yosuke Yamahata, a Japanese cameraman who entered the ground zero on the day after in Nagasaki, photographed the scenes of devastation for the Imperial Army. His photographs were restored to their original condition in 1995 by digital technology to provide vivid images of the immediate aftermath.
    *NHK Special Nagasaki - A Record of Life and Death - Rediscovering 115 Photographic Negatives (1995)

NHK Special Nagasaki - A Record of Life and Death - Rediscovering 115 Photographic Negatives (1995)

    The following year, 1996, NHK aired Nagasaki Special: Producing Pictures of that Awful Day 51 Years Ago. These A-bomb pictures were contributed in response to a call put out by a society of registered survivors.

Cancellation of A-Bomb Exhibition at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in the USA
    The complexity of spreading the messages of the tragedy of the bombings and importance of eradicating nuclear weapons was highlighted by the dispute over an exhibition planned at the     Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum that was to show both the devastation and the plane, Enola Gay, which dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, as historical materials. The project met with a strong objection from the US Congress and the section on the devastation was altered. Even 50 years after the end of the war, perceptions of national interest intervened to prevent the establishment of a common understanding that could transcend the standpoints of victor and vanquished.
    Can the use of these indiscriminate weapons of mass murder be tolerated? This obvious question was finally debated at the International Court of Justice more than 50 years after the war. It happened, but very late.
    *NHK Special Discussing the A-Bombing in the United States: Ripples from the Cancellation of the Smithsonian Exhibition (1995)
    *NHK Special Nuclear Weapons Brought to Justice: Prosecution and Defense at the International Court of Justice (1996)