(45)How was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima reported?

The first report was broadcast on radio in the evening of August 6

Satoru Ubuki, 62, professor at Hiroshima Jogakuin University, says that the earliest report of the atomic bombing was a radio broadcast at 6:00 p.m. on August 6, 1945. Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) reported: "At 8:20 a.m. on August 6, B-29 bombers attacked Hiroshima with incendiary bombs and fled. The damage is now under investigation." On August 7, the next day, a newspaper in Osaka printed a small article about the attack, again stating that incendiary bombs had been dropped.

According to the 1948 report Shusenki ("Account of the End of the War"), written by the late Hiroshi Shimomura (written under the pen name "Kainan Shimomura"), the head of the Japanese military's Information Division, this division, in charge of media control, made the following policy decisions at a meeting on August 7: 1) We will appeal to the international community to condemn the use of such bombs against human beings; 2) At home, we will announce that the bomb is an atomic bomb and urge citizens to renew their preparedness for war.

The evening paper of July 6, 1946, which carried the photos taken by Yoshito Matsushige on August 6.

However, the military authorities and the Department of the Interior opposed disclosing the description of an "atomic bomb." In Shusenki, it was noted that the Imperial General Headquarters announced the bombing without using this term. Thus, on August 8, newspapers reported that "the enemy had used a new type of bomb in the attack on Hiroshima, but the details are under investigation."

In Hiroshima, reporters from the Chugoku Shimbun were covering the catastrophe in the midst of the rubble. One reporter, Ichiro Osako, wrote in his book "Hiroshima, 1945" that he met the commander of the Chugoku Military District Headquarters and took notes on the statement they issued. However, this statement could not be reported because the newspaper's building had been destroyed and the printing presses and paper were consumed by fire. The Chugoku Shimbun, in fact, could not produce a newspaper on its own until September.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the American media reported on the bombing as soon as President Truman announced the attack 16 hours after the bomb was dropped.

Looking back, I tried to pinpoint when the term "atomic bomb" was used for the first time in Japan.

I discovered that the Asahi Shimbun, in its Osaka version of August 11, contained the headline: "Atomic bomb is more brutal than poison gas." This headline was for a statement expressing the Japanese government's protest to the U.S. government in regard to the use of these weapons. Yukuo Sasamoto, 64, an expert in the history of occupied Japan, believes this is "the first time the term 'atomic bomb' was used in a newspaper."

And what about photos of the atomic bombing? Masami Nishimoto, a senior writer for the Chugoku Shimbun, points out that the first photos appeared in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper on August 11 as well, using two photos taken on August 9. The first time a photo from August 6 appeared in the newspaper was in the Asahi Shimbun on August 9. It showed a mushroom cloud with the caption: "Hiroshima right after the atomic bomb exploded."

The first photos from August 6 to be printed in the Chugoku Shimbun came out on July 6, 1946, 11 months after the bombing. On the second page of the evening paper, three photos appeared under the heading "A Record of this Century." Two of the three pictures were taken by the late photographer Yoshito Matsushige, who has been featured in a previous article.

The reason it took so long for the Chugoku Shimbun to run these photos is because the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces issued the Press Code for Japan on September 19, 1945 which controlled the coverage of damage done by the atomic bombs and objections to their use.

The article in the evening paper was actually an account of these photos appearing in an American magazine. Although the truth hasn't been confirmed, Mr. Nishimoto believes the story was run as a way to carry the photos. The article begins: "By sharing these precious photos from that day, we hope the grief felt over the victims will lead to a stronger vision for renouncing war and achieving peace in the world."

In these words, we can sense a deep desire to convey the true damage of the atomic bomb, no matter the cost.(Kensuke Murashima, staff writer)