On May 9th 2012 Dr. Shizuteru Usui, president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), passed away.
On 6th August 1945 Shizuteru Usui, who was then an eight year old boy, was near his home in Ushita-honmachi, 2.3 kilometers north east of the hypocenter when the a-bomb exploded.
As an A-bomb survivor himself, he dedicated his life to the medical care of other A-bomb survivors both in Japan and overseas. He visited A-bomb survivors living in North and South America and performed health checkups for them. He also helped overseas survivors to return to Japan for medical care. In October 2011 he visited A-bomb survivors in North Korea.
Dr. Usui had been preparing for the 20th IPPNW congress which was held in Hiroshima on August 22nd to 23rd when he passed away.
During the presidency of Dr. Shizuteru Usui, JPPNW oversaw the publication of One Day in Hiroshima: An Oral History – written by Nanao Kamada – which is a book that describes what happened in Hiroshima on August 6th 1945, the day of the atomic bombing of the city at the close of World War Two.
To commemorate the 20th IPPNW World Congress in Hiroshima, and as a mark of respect to the late Dr. Shizuteru Usui, JPPNW has made a pdf file of One Day in Hiroshima: An Oral History available for free download on the website of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association so that it will be linked to the IPPNW website to reach a global readership. You may download a copy via this link gratis.
