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JVCampus

Subject | Humanities & Social Sciences

  • Learning

Hiroshima 1945: Atomic Bombing and Journalism~Marcel Junod (1904-1961)~

Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the first cities where the atomic bomb was used in warfare. Journalists in Japan were banned from reporting on the casualties and damages of the bombs, after the country came under occupation by the Allied Forces in September of 1945. The authorities feared it would interfere with implementing their policies.
But the world would soon hear and see what had happened through the eyes of journalists from overseas. They witnessed the devastation firsthand and filed their stories, knowing so well that they might go head-to-head with the authorities. John Hersey, an American war correspondent, filed a story for The New Yorker in August 1946. His article sent a shockwave back home and led the US government to provide its justification for dropping the bombs: The use of the atomic bomb had spared the lives of one million US soldiers. This is how the US government legitimizes the bombings to this day. Revisiting how the media reported or had not reported on the atomic bombings allows participants to think about the role of journalism vis-à-vis authorities and that of individual conscience.
In this program, participants will watch videos produced by NHK WORLD-JAPAN, Japan’s sole public broadcaster, and consider how journalists, governments and civilians had each sought out their roles in telling the stories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the world.

  • Target
    Bachelor, Master, Doctor, General, High school
  • Language
    Japanese, English
  • Caption
    English
  • Lecture time
    45-60min.
  • Start month
    Anytime
  • Length
    Short
  • Delivery method
    Ondemand
Enroll（Free registration）
©University of Tsukuba.  Last Update 2025-07-11
  • Content
    学習内容
  • Staff
    スタッフ
  • Competency
    コンピテンシー
  • Related Contents
    関連コンテンツ

Content／学習内容

  • Swiss physician Marcel Junod was assigned as the director of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Japan office during the final stage of WWⅡ. He headed to his new post through Siberia. On his way to Japan, he met with US military Lieutenant General Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright at a detention center for Japanese prisoners of war. This meeting had proven valuable after the war ended―Junod was able to procure humanitarian aid from Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, American General Douglas MacArthur. Just a month after the bomb, Junod pulled an unthinkable.
    On September 8th, 1945, Junod landed in Hiroshima, bringing with him 15 tons of military medical supplies on six US military planes. That was a month’s worth of medication for one million injured people. However, Junod could not make it to Nagasaki for various reasons. He later served as Vice President of the ICRC, but his life was cut short at the age of 57 due to a heart attack. Until his death, he spoke about the choice humankind is faced with -- either annihilation by using nuclear weapons, or abolishment of such weapons.
    By learning about Junod, participants can understand the background of the ICRC and the philosophy of humanitarian work around the world.

  • Designated TV Programs: NHK WORLD-JAPAN  Anime "Junod"

Staff／スタッフ

    • Teacher
    Jean-François Berger
    Historian
    • Content Production
    Takaaki TAKAI
    Deputy Director, Bureau of Public Relations
    University of Tsukuba

Specal Thanks:
International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross Delegation in Japan
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum
Vaskange
Roland Sidler｜WTN
Benoit Junod｜Shinko Matsunaga
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum｜Hironobu Ochiba
Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital & Atomic-bomb Survivors Hospital
Hiroshima City
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
MacArthur Memorial｜Jim Zobel
Antoine Bosson｜Romain Guelat
Yoshiaki Yoshizawa｜Kumiko Ogoshi-Takai

Competency／コンピテンシー

  • Creativity
  • Situation grasping ability

Specialized competencies

  • Journalism
  • empowerment of the ability to understand
  • grasp a historic event in a multi-faceted way

Learning Goal

  • understand how the news of a-bomb was reported worldwide in a systemic way
  • understand how the US government had come to legitimize the bombing
  • learn about the impact of the a-bombing on non-Japanese nationals and build understanding for both the damage and perpetration
  • develop an undertanding of the role that journalism played in the aftermath of the bombing
  • learn about the cases how conscience of individuals can play a role under a certain political regime
  • develop an understanding of the role journalism could play in war when anger and hatred can divide people in friends ad foes

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