Shigemi fukahori, peace activist and Nagasaki survivor, died with 93

Shigemi fukahori, peace activist and Nagasaki survivor, died with 93

Tokyo (AP) - Shigemi Fukhaori, a survivor of the nuclear attack on Nagasaki in 1945, who devoted his life to peace and use against nuclear weapons. He was 93 years old.

fukahori died on January 3. in a hospital in Nagasaki, in the southwest of Japan, such as the Urakami-Catholic church, where he prayed almost daily until last year. Local media reported that he died of natural death.

symbol of hope and peace

The church, only about 500 meters from Ground Zero and located near the Nagasaki Peace Park, is considered a widely recognized symbol of hope and peace, since their bell tower and some statues have survived the nuclear bombing.

fukahori was only 14 years old when the United States turned the bomb to Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, whereby tens of thousands of people, including members of his family, were killed. Hiroshima was attacked just three days earlier, where 140,000 people died. A few days later, Japan surrendered what heralded the end of the Second World War and the almost fifty -year aggression of the country in Asia.

silence about the past

fukahori, who worked in a shipyard about 3 kilometers away from the detonation site, could not talk about the events for years. This was not only due to the painful memories, but also because of the feeling of fainting that he experienced at the time.

About 15 years ago he began to speak more openly when he met a man during a visit to Spain who had the bomb attack on Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. This common experience helped Fukahori to open up.

an unforgettable moment

"In the day when the bomb fell, I heard a voice that called for help. When I went closer and my hand stretched out, the skin melting.

He often spoke to students and hoped that they would continue what he called "Stab of Peace".

a last service for peace

When Pope Francis visited Nagasaki in 2019, Fukahori was the one who presented him with a wreath of white flowers. The following year Fukahori represented the bomb victims in a ceremony and made his "promise for peace" and said: "I am determined to send our message so that Nagasaki is the last place where an atomic bomb is ever thrown."

The funeral service was planned for Monday in the Urakami Church, where his daughter will represent the family.