[The present state of atomic bomb survivors, with special reference to biological late-effects of radiation]

Abstract

Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Within a few months, the bomb blast, heat and radiation emitted by the atomic explosions led to approximately 114,000 fatalities in Hiroshima and about 70,000 in Nagasaki. The radiation in particular continued to exert effects on the human body over a long period of time, resulting in the development of tumors and functional abnormalities in various organs. This paper briefly outlines the diseases caused by radiation as well as the biological late-effects on the survivors without any specific diseases, and stresses the necessity of our enthusiastic opposition to the use of any kind of nuclear weapons.