Who are the Hibakusha?
Hibakusha is a Japanese word which means “explosion affected people.” The Hibakusha are the people who were affected by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States towards the end of the Second World War. Most Hibakusha are Japanese, although some are Koreans who were drafted into the Japanese military during the war. The Japanese government pays special allowances to surviving Hibakusha, including medical allowances to people who have been affected by radiation-related illnesses. In order to be considered Hibakusha, people can fall into several categories. The first includes people who were within a little over a mile or several kilometers of the atomic bomb explosions. The second category encompasses people who came within one and one quarter miles (two kilometers) of the epicenters of the explosions within two weeks of the bombing. People who were exposed to fallout from the bombs are also considered Hibakusha, as are the children of women who were pregna
