私は東京を拠点に核兵器廃絶のアクションをデザインしているKNOW NUKES TOKYO共同代表の中村涼香です。長崎出身の22歳、被爆3世です。母方の祖母が８歳の時に長崎で被爆をしました。
　祖母の家は爆心地から2~3キロ地点にありましたが、原爆が投下される数日前に田舎の親戚の家に疎開をして助かりました。その後、家の様子を見に行こうと長崎市内に入り、入市被爆をします。祖母の父は戦争で亡くなっていたので、原爆投下後、祖母は母と兄と一緒に親戚の家に身を寄せましたが、とても貧しく肩身の狭い思いをしたと聞いています。
　私の祖母は今も元気に暮らしていますが、過去に一度癌を診断されています。それが被爆の影響であるかどうかは分かりません。私はそんな祖母から命がつながり、今日ここにいます。もしあの時に祖母が疎開していなかったら、もし放射能の影響をもっと受けていて被爆直後に亡くなっていたら、私はここにいないでしょう。原爆は後世に続くはずであった命までも奪ったのです。そう考えると私は直接被爆を経験していませんが、とても被爆を他人事とは思えませんでした。
もしかしたら、私や母にも被爆の影響が今後出るかもしれませんが、核兵器の被害が被爆2世や3世にどのような影響をもたらすか明らかになっていません。何も分からないのです。何も分からないから怖いのです。将来、何かあるかもしれないし、ないかもしれない。それが被爆のせいかもしれないし、違うかもしれない。
だけど、これまでに被爆者は明らかに被爆の後遺症に苦しめられてきました。癌や白血病になる確率は平均より高く、お母さんの胎内で被爆した人には小頭症が多く見られました。胎内被爆者で日本被団協は被爆2世への大規模なアンケート調査を行い、肉体的・精神的な不安を持っている人が多くいることが分かりました。
また、私はこうした話を祖母から直接聞いたことがありません。母が代わりに教えてくれました。祖母にとって被爆の記憶は今も思い出したくない恐ろしいものなのだと思います。私の祖母と同じように今もなお過去の記憶に苦しめられ、また差別を恐れて自身が被爆者であることを隠している人がいます。これだけ長い時間が経過しても被爆の傷は確実に残っているのです。それでも今日ここに来ている被爆者の皆さんをはじめ、これまでに多くの方々が核兵器の恐ろしさを伝えるために、勇敢にもその辛い、苦しい記憶を共有してきました。私たちは被爆者の痛みや苦しみに思いを寄せ、体験を共有してくれることに最大限のリスペクトを示さなければいけません。
さらに普段から被爆者に近いところにいる私が皆さんに伝えたいことは、現在のウクライナ危機の中でプーチン大統領が核兵器の使用を示唆したことにウクライナの国民をはじめ、世界中が恐怖に包まれました。そして、核兵器の恐ろしさを知っている被爆者はその恐怖を人一倍感じています。被爆者をはじめとする核被害者はこれまで援助を受けるどころか差別を受け、多くの不安や悲しみに襲われ、さらにその上で社会に対して声を上げてきました。彼らは誰もヒバクシャにならないこと、誰も傷つけないことを望んでいるだけなのに、どうしてそれが叶わないのか。もう広島、長崎の被爆から77年が経とうとしています。これ以上、彼らに負担をかけてはいけません。
被爆者の平均年齢は間もなく84歳になります。私たちは被爆体験の継承という課題も抱えています。私を含む、ほとんどの人は被爆を経験していないのですから、被爆者と同じように核兵器の恐ろしさを語ることはできないかもしれません。私が語ることができるのは彼らから聞いた話だけです。そういう意味ではここにいる皆さんも、被爆者の話を聞いた皆さんも記憶を語り継いでいく担い手なのです。記憶は人によって異なります。またその記憶の語り手によっても継承の形は異なってきます。これからの将来、被爆の恐ろしさを記憶し、同じ過ちを繰り返さないかどうかは私たちにかかっているのです。
誰もが、被爆者と話をしたらすぐに気づくと思います。彼らが持っている優しさや温かさに。彼らは悲劇の主人公ではなく、彼らの人生を生きているということに。苦しみや痛みの中に喜びや希望があって、この非人道会議や核兵器禁止条約はまさに希望なのです。1日も早く核兵器が無くなることを願います。
私は日本政府から被爆の実相を伝えるユース非核特使を委嘱されています。このような形で話ができる機会をいただき、その役割を全うすることができたことに感謝しつつ、唯一の戦争被爆国である日本政府が核兵器禁止条約の締約国会議に参加しないことを残念に思います。引き続き、日本が積極的に核軍縮に取り組めるよう、政府と市民が一体となって頑張っていきます。
今日ここにお集まりの皆さんに最大の敬意を表すると共に、私のスピーチは終わりにしたいと思います。ご清聴いただきありがとうございました。

I am Suzuka Nakamura, co-founder of KNOW NUKES TOKYO, a Tokyo-based organization designing actions for nuclear weapons abolition. I am 22 years old and a third generation A-bomb survivor from Nagasaki. My maternal grandmother was exposed to the atomic bomb when she was 8 years old.

Today I am wearing a kimono which I borrowed from Ms.Tomiko Fukushima, an A-bomb survivor from Nagasaki. She always wears a kimono when she tells her story as a survivor, a HIBAKUSHA.

　I will go back to my grandmother's story. Her house was 2 to 3 kilometer from the hypocenter, but a few days before the bomb was dropped, she was evacuated to a relative's house in the countryside and survived. After that, she entered the city of Nagasaki to check on her house and was exposed to the bombing in the city. My grandmother's father had died in the war, so after the bombing, she, her mother and brother moved in with relatives, but I heard that they were very poor and felt under pressure.

　My grandmother is still alive and well, but she has been diagnosed with cancer once in the past. I do not know if this was due to the A-bombing or not. I am here today because my grandmother passed on her life to me. If my grandmother had not been evacuated at that time, if she had been more affected by radiation and died soon after the bombing, I would not be here. The atomic bomb also took away lives that were supposed to last for generations to come. When I think about this, even though I did not directly experience the atomic bombing, I cannot think of it as someone else's problem.

Perhaps my mother and I will be affected by the atomic bombing in the future, but it is not clear how the damage caused by nuclear weapons will affect the second and third generations of A-bomb survivors. We don't know anything. I am afraid because I don't know anything. There may or may not be something in the future. It may be because of the atomic bombings, or it may not.

But so far, Hibakusha have clearly suffered from the aftereffects of the bombings. The probability of developing cancer or leukemia is higher than average, and microcephaly has been seen more often in those who were exposed to the bomb while in their mothers' wombs. Members of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, conducted a survey of second-generation A-bomb survivors and found that many had physical and psychological anxiety.

I have never heard these stories directly from my grandmother. My mother told me instead. I think that for my grandmother, the memory of the A-bombing is still a terrible thing that she does not want to recall. Like my grandmother, there are people who are still tormented by memories of the past, who hide the fact that they are Hibakusha for fear of discrimination. Even after such a long time has passed, the scars of the atomic bombing remain. Nevertheless, many people, including the Hibakusha here today, have bravely shared their suffering and painful memories to convey the horror of nuclear weapons. We must think of the pain and suffering of the Hibakusha and show them our utmost respect for sharing their experiences with us.

Furthermore, as I am usually in close proximity to Hibakusha, I would like to convey to you that the people of Ukraine and the world are horrified by Russian President Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons in the current war on Ukraine. And the Hibakusha, who know the horror of nuclear weapons, feel that fear more than anyone else. Hibakusha and other nuclear victims have so far been discriminated against rather than receiving aid, and have suffered much anxiety and grief. On top of that, they have raised their voices against society. They only hope that no one else will become a hibakusha and no one will be harmed, but why can't this be realized? It has already been 77 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We should not burden them any longer.

The average age of Hibakusha is nearly 84. We also have the challenge of passing on the A-bomb experience. Most of us, including myself, did not experience the atomic bombings, so we may not be able to talk about the horror of nuclear weapons in the same way as the Hibakusha. I can only tell you what I have heard from them. In that sense, all of you here and all of you who have heard the stories of the Hibakusha are bearers of memory. Memories differ from person to person. The form of transmission will also differ depending on the narrator of that memory. It is up to us to remember the horror of the atomic bombings and to prevent repetition of the same mistakes in the future.

I believe that everyone will immediately recognize the Hibakusha when they talk to them, due to the kindness and warmth they possess. That they are not the heroes of a tragedy, but are living their lives. I hope that nuclear weapons will be eliminated as soon as possible.

I have been commissioned by the Japanese government as a Youth Communicator for a world without nuclear weapons, to convey the reality of the atomic bombings. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this way and to fulfill this role, and at the same time I regret that the Japanese government, the only country to have experienced the wartime use of nuclear weapons, will not participate in the Meeting of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The government and citizens of Japan will continue to work together to ensure that Japan can actively engage in nuclear disarmament.

I would like to conclude my speech by expressing my greatest respect to all of you gathered here today. Thank you very much for your kind attention.