This is how it was. For the morning ceremonies, together with sixty of my friends, I went out into the the schoolyard. It was before we had lined up, and when the homeroom president gave the order to line up, there was a terribly loud noise. Everything grew pitch black in a moment and I couldn't even see right in front of my eyes. In about ten minutes the smoke began to clear and I could see the schoolyard and I thought that I could begin to understand what had happened. But I myself had been thrown back about ten meters by the rush of wind. My friends behind me, or to the right or to the left, all had been knocked down by the wind and had fallen all around the schoolyard. The school building was constructed of wood so it had collapsed, the houses in the neighborhood around the school had totally disappeared. When we looked in the distance, only the Western style buildings remained. The town of Hiroshima was gone completely. This is what I felt at the time. Then, as fast as I could I ran away from the schoolyard, toward the river. I ran away with my friends. There we met many victims of the blast. The back of my head, my back, and both arms and legs were burned. My skin was blackened.. I was wounded in several places by fragments of glass. Among the victims that I saw as I ran away, many were much more badly burned. Others were much more badly wounded. So in the midst of this tragedy we fled to the river.

MR. TAKAHASHI, AT THE TIME WHAT DID YOU THINK HAD HAPPENED?

Before the atomic explosion, the air raid siren had already blown an all clear. But why was one B-29 flying through the sky? That plane must have dropped the bomb, now that is what I think, but at the time I didn't know that. But we had noticed the plane, we watched it, so I thought that the plane had dropped some bomb. Of course I didn't know that it was an atomic bomb, I thought that it was an ordinary bomb. Like the ones that Japan had been attacked with, the so-called "Victory Bombs"(?). I thought that it was just one of these ordinary "Victory Bombs." Since we had always been told in emergency drills that if by some chance a bomb fell, we should go to the river quickly. So remembering our training, I and my friends ran to the river.

AT THE TIME DID YOU THINK THAT THIS WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER BOMBS THAT THE AMERICANS HAD DROPPED?

No, not at all.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF DOING RIGHT AFTER THE BOMB DROPPED? DID YOU THINK ABOUT FLEEING OR SEARCHING FOR YOUR PARENTS?

Well in the schoolyard, I remembered our emergency drills and together with my friends ran away to the river. When a bomb drops there is danger of fire and so at that time, getting to the river is the most important thing. Just as we were trained, we, at least, moved. Then, of course, I thought that I wanted to go back to my own house.

AFTER THESE EXPERIENCES, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE PEACEFUL USE OF ATOMIC ENERGY?

THIS IS A REPEAT, BUT WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE PEACEFUL USE OF ATOMIC ENERGY? NOT WHAT YOU THINK NOW BUT WHAT WAS YOUR FEELING RIGHT AFTER THE WAR IN THE 1950S.

About the peaceful use of atomic power back in that period?

NOT NOW BUT WHEN THE PEACEFUL USE OF ATOMIC ENERGY WAS FIRST PROPOSED, WAS THAT DIFFICULT FOR YOU...?

If you talk about our feelings in August 1945, we never would have guessed that there would be a peaceful use of atomic energy. That is all that I can say about that. I can talk about how I feel now but...

DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN PEACE ACTIONS, PEACE MARCHES, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE 1950S?

You were just speaking of peaceful use of atomic energy. When I first heard about the peaceful use of atomic energy, at the time I thought, to speak directly, I thought that using atomic energy, well, especially to produce electricity was a very good thing. But gradually there were accidents. And we came to understand that there were emissions of radiation in these accidents. Then I thought that the risk to the human body from radioactivity from accidents was great. All of us victims of the atomic blast knew this well. So with the peaceful use of atomic power there were accidents, then the people working there risked exposure to radiation, or explosion. So began I had doubts about the peaceful use of atomic power. But in order for human beings to live, after all, energy is necessary. So after considering this I am not necessarily totally opposed to the peaceful use of atomic energy. Only I wonder if they could not have considered other sources of energy more thoroughly before using atomic energy. For example, oil or petroleum. It should have been investigated for how many years existing supplies were adequate and then the results presented to the people of the world. And coal, I think that since Japan has coal it is necessary to reexamine coal production. There are also various sources of energy like solar energy, geothermal energy and sea energy. Before using atomic energy, these other sources, these sources without the risk of radiation, other sources of energy should have been researched and discovered. This was the first goal of ray activity. Then if there was no choice other than nuclear energy then it would have been acceptable, but now everything is "nuclear energy, nuclear energy," that is all that is recommended. I think that this is an extremely dangerous state of affairs.

DID YOU PARTICIPATE INDIVIDUALLY IN THE PEACE MOVEMENT, AND IF SO, WHAT WERE YOUR IMPRESSIONS AND REACTIONS AT THE TIME TO THE MOVEMENT?

Recently, well, several years ago there was the invention of the hydrogen bomb, and the world conference banning it. Peace marches...

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE LESSONS OF THE BOMBS AT HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI?

Well...often, young people, who don't know about the war, think that what happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or the incidents Second World War is part of the past, just an ancient story. They think that it all has nothing to do with our lives today. A great part of young people today believe this. I think that the experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, our experience, is not simple a historical fact from the past. But is important as well for people of living today and looking toward the Twenty-First century. That is, for young people, old people, men, woman, Japanese, other peoples. The present is a result of the past. Because of the past we have the present or the future. So one can never erase the past. I think that the experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the events of the Second World War are not at all meaningless for the young people of today. On the contrary, for the world you are living in, the present age, the state of the world is more dangerous than in the last war. The experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a message, a warning to this kind of age of danger. This is what I say to young people often. For this reason, the experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is by no means just a historical fact out of the past. It is a message to this dangerous nuclear age. It is an endless alarm for the future of mankind. That is what our experience is. This is what I would like young people who did not experience the war to hold firmly.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COUNTRIES POSSESING NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

Well, we... In any case, at least we would like to see nuclear weapons truly disappear as quickly as possible. For this reason, with our experience, no other country has our experience. We would like a complete stop to the spread of nuclear weapons. So now five countries have nuclear weapons, but we would like to see a complete end to the nuclear weapons of all countries, whatever reason is thought to justify them. We deeply believe this. We would like there to be an end to the spread of nuclear weapons from one country to another. This is a thing that cannot be permitted. Often the leaders of America and the Soviet Union talk about defending peace with nuclear weapons, that is peace is only permitted though nuclear weapons. I think that this is mistaken. Only if nuclear weapons are eliminated will there be a new peace. For this reason, from now on, as long as we live, we victims of the atomic bomb will present our experience, working for nuclear weapons to be eliminated as soon as possible.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TEACH TO COUNTRIES POSSESSING NUCLEAR FORCES?

As we said, today five countries possess nuclear weapons, and of them, America and the Soviet Union possess over 90 percent of them. But our fate, including us, the victims of the atomic blast, the fate of the people of the world, depends on the fate of the leaders of, the heads of America and the Soviet Union. Will we be destroyed by nuclear weapons? If nuclear weapons are eliminated, how fortunately we will be able to live. The leaders of America and the Soviet Union talk about a meeting. But, as I often say, I wish that President Reagan and Gorbachev as quickly as possible hold a summit, discuss concretely eliminating nuclear weapons and decide this. The politicians need to decide. Scientists have already said that nuclear weapons should be eliminated. So we need the politicians need to decide. The leaders of America and the Soviet Union have a hundred plans, a hundred agreements but I think that in any case one must be put into practice. This is what I would like to say to the leaders of America and the Soviet Union.

SINCE THE NUCLEAR AGE HAS COME ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC OR PESSIMISTIC?

It is forty-two years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and in that time, over two hundred warlike incidents have occurred. Well, fortunately or unfortunately, although we have nuclear weapons, they have not been used. Not in these forty-two years. In that sense, perhaps through luck, I'm not sure why, as long as there are nuclear weapons I could never say that things were good, but it is fortunate that they have not been used. But as we approach the Twenty-First century this does not mean that they will not be used. The possibility that they will be used is extremely high. The leaders will not push the button. Rather, what are more dangerous, are accidental uses of nuclear weapons. There are two possibilities. The first are terrorists, or nuclear weapons used by terrorists, or nuclear weapons constructed by terrorists. Whatever their aims, they may construct nuclear weapons in order to reach their goals. From the state of the world today this is a plausible prospect. The other is a computer error. In America from data from three years ago, computer errors have occurred two-hundred and fifty times. They mistakenly judged that Soviet missies had been launched. The machine's computations were wrong and put out this information. There are records of this, and this could result in the use of nuclear weapons. An error. But while it is an error, unknowingly one might think that the Soviet Union has actually launched missies. And without knowing that it was this kind of mistake, America might push the button. And since the Soviet Union had not attacked, probably if America pushes the button, the Soviet Union will push the button as well. So through this kind of computer error, an accidental use of nuclear weapons is possible. The danger of these two things happening are very present in the future so for this reason nuclear weapons must be eliminated. As long as they exist there will be accidents, and ultimately, the leaders do not want to use these weapons. But if such a thing happens... such a thing must not happen, such a thing must not happen again. If nuclear power is used not for the purpose of war, but for various peaceful aims, then it is quite good. That is what I thought at the time, but then when accidents started occurring, even with the production of electricity. Then I began to have doubts about whether even the peaceful use of nuclear power was really beneficial to the human race. And then there are the things that I spoke of before...Of course, what I just said is not what all the Japanese people think but what I myself think. I said that other sources of energy needed to be investigated... that is my own thought.

IN THE 1950S WHEN THE PEACEFUL USE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY WAS FIRST PROPOSED, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION OR THE REACTION OF THE JAPANESE PEOPLE. I THINK THAT YOU SPOKE OF THIS JUST NOW...

I think so, but in Showa 33, that is 1958, in Hiroshima there was a large exhibition of the rebuilding and there was an exhibit for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. I thought at the time that it seemed extremely unusual, that there was such an opportunity to use nuclear power... there was such an exhibit, and I thought it and people flocked to it. But concretely, I don't think that the Japanese people really thought about the possibility of the peaceful use of nuclear energy then...Yes I participated, in all sorts of peace marches.

COULD YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR REACTION TO THE PEACE MARCHES?

Peace marches? The peace marches. What I remember the best, recently, was when the first United Nations nuclear conference was held in 1978, I believe. In the middle of the rain we walked from the Peace Park to in front of the station, despite the rain there were five or six hundred people walking silently from the park to the... I'm sorry, from the station to the Peace Park, we walked silently. This is what remains in my memory most clearly.

WHAT WAS THE REACTION OF THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU?

Since we walked silently, we couldn't talk so I don't really know. ...

(Inaudible question)

Oh? Since it was raining, there were no bystanders.

WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN IN THE 1950S AND 1960S THE NUMBER OF COUNTRIES POSSESSING NUCLEAR CAPABILITY INCREASED?

At the time I was very angry when I learned that the number of countries with nuclear arms increased. I remember this clearly that I was extremely angry and greatly saddened. I was very hard to endure the fact that the number of countries with nuclear weapons had increased yet again. This is what I felt.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS CONCERNING THE NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY? WAS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD SUPPORTED?

I am certainly in favor of it. Of course as a treaty the decision was not mine to make, and I don't think that this is the best thing. However, if I had to say, it has become a treaty after all, and may do something, but they are trying to make it meaningless, especially America. And I cannot accept this. So along with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, with one or two more treaties, I hope that America and the Soviet Union will quickly begin to make concrete steps toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.

DO YOU THINK THAT JAPAN WILL POSSESS NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

Well, based on the constitution, the present Self-Defense forces cannot exist, according to conditions of the constitution, that is. Even the Self-Defense Force is not supposed to exist, must not exist, this is even more true of becoming a country possessing nuclear weapons. In the present constitution this possibility is completely eliminated. I don't think that there is any probability of it happening, but to speak concretely, if Nakasone continues in power, I think that he will try to revise the constitution in order to possess nuclear weapons, if the present political situation continues. I believe that the current cabinet is following such a course. Even if it is the same Liberal Democratic Party, I pray that the current political situation will not continue too long. This will be televised in America won't it? So when you talk about Hiroshima, they will respond by talking about Pearl Harbor. In America. I went to America once and I was told that the atomic bomb was dropped because of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many people say this. But I want to go beyond the hatred of the atomic bomb. Of course it is a fact that we still had hatred, hatred for America and the leaders of Japan. The Chinese have hatred for the actions of Japan, and in America there is still hatred over Pearl Harbor. But we must all move beyond this. We must move beyond this in order to aim at a true peace. The hatred cannot be erased, but we can move beyond it. This is what I would like to say to the American audience.