“He Survived Hiroshima… Then Nagasaki Killed Him Again: The True Story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi”
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a Japanese engineer who was on a business trip in the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, when the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city. At that fateful moment, he was located only about 3 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion. The intense heat wave severely burned his body, temporarily blinded him, and ruptured his eardrums. Nevertheless, he managed to survive what was a certain death for the vast majority of people in the immediate area.Although he was seriously injured and still covered in bandages, Yamaguchi decided to return to his home in Nagasaki as quickly as possible.
Just three days later, on August 9, 1945, while he was at his office explaining the dramatic experience of the Hiroshima blast to his supervisor, history repeated itself in a horrifying way. At 11:02 a.m., the second atomic bomb detonated over Nagasaki. Yamaguchi survived once again, thanks to the protection of a sturdy concrete building where he was located at that moment. Fortunately, his wife and their infant son, who were at home, also survived the attack.Decades later, the Japanese government officially recognized Tsutomu Yamaguchi as the only person in the world confirmed to have survived both atomic bombings of World War II.Throughout his long life, he suffered from the effects of radiation exposure, including chronic illnesses and ongoing health problems.
However, in the later years of his life, Yamaguchi became a powerful voice against nuclear weapons. He spoke at the United Nations, where he described nuclear arms as “crimes against humanity.” He never claimed to have defeated the bombs. Instead, he simply said that he had lived with them — and he did so for 93 years, passing away in 2010 at the age of 93.
