At 83, orphaned hibakusha Kunihiko Iida remains steadfast in his mission to bear witness to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, now 80 years past. His vivid memories, born from tragedy at age three, continue to inform his relentless advocacy against nuclear weapons.

In August 1945, Iida was at his grandparents’ house approximately 900 meters from ground zero with his mother Toshiko and his sister Makiko (4). The blast flung him airborne, along with the tatami mat beneath him. Glass shards pierced his skin, and the intense flash and heat caused his hair to fall out and discoloured his body. His mother and sister succumbed a month later, victims of radiation-related necrosis.

Despite losing his immediate family, Iida emerged determined to speak. He believes that unflinching recounting of what he endured—and the pain he witnessed—is essential to preventing history from repeating itself.

Reflecting on the present, he worries the rapidly aging cohort of survivors in Japan—now numbering under 100,000—means the firsthand stories will soon vanish. With each passing year, fewer can share the human cost of nuclear warfare. He insists that younger generations must hear and internalise these truths before it’s too late.

Iida frames this responsibility as central to nuclear abolition: only through understanding the horror can humanity commit to preventing it. Each time he speaks, he hopes to connect past suffering with future resolve—transforming memory into action.

---

Key

• Personal resilience: From toddler to orphan survivor, Iida transforms his trauma into powerful testimony.
• Urgency of history: With survivors aged mid-80s and older, the window to record first‑hand accounts is closing.
• Moral imperative: Iida links remembering Hiroshima directly to the fight for nuclear disarmament.

---

In sharing his story, Iida embodies a living bridge between past and future—preserving collective memory to help safeguard tomorrow.