NAGASAKI (Web Desk) – The 86 year old Japanese citizen, Sumitery Taniguchi, who is believed to be one of the many tens of thousands of victims of the atomic blast that destroyed the Japanese port city of Nagasaki, on August 9 1945, still cannot fully straighten his left arm, while his wife rubs moisturizing cream onto his scars, that have criss-crossed his skin for 70 years, every morning to reduce the irritation.
Three of his ribs half rotted away following the attack and still press against his lungs, leaving unnatural dents and swellings in his scrawny chest.
Mr Taniguchi was just 16 when the five-tonne plutonium bomb, known as the ‘Fat Man’, exploded 500 metres above his home city of Nagasaki, on the western side on the Japanese island of Kyushu.
He has revealed his scars as part of his work with the Nagasaki survivors’ group that he leads, in the struggle against nuclear proliferation. He and his group hope that no one will ever again suffer the pain of a nuclear blast.
The city was one of Japan’s most important ports, providing vital access to and from Shanghai.
