"Monodrama puts spotlight on man who survived A-bomb, Fukushima accident"
August 2, 2013
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As reported by the Asahi Shimbun:

'A survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima who later became an evacuee from the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is the subject of a monodrama being performed at Haiyuza Theater in Tokyo.

Masahiro Endo had the misfortune of twice being exposed to high levels of radiation in his lifetime. Actor Hiroshi Kamiyama, 80, who has been performing one-person shows, is telling Endo’s life and story on stage. The show runs through Aug. 4.

“Aug. 6 and March 11. The two never-to-be-forgotten dates have been carved into my body and my life,” Endo, 87, said in an interview near his current residence in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture...

...He wrote about his life and his thoughts--that he has not been to Hiroshima after 1945 because he did not want to remember the horrors of the aftermath of the atomic bomb; his involvement in a campaign to attract a nuclear power plant; and the campaign in which he tried to convince landlords to support a plant, saying, “Nuclear power is a peaceful industry, unlike the atomic bomb. As a hibakusha, I understand the horrors of radioactivity. We guarantee safety.”

Yamaguchi learned in June that Endo had been greatly affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident. She and Kamiyama visited Endo and interviewed him. The hibakusha accepted her request to write a script for a monodrama based on the interview.

“As I had believed that Japan would win the war, I believed that nuclear power is safe,” Endo said. “I feel ashamed.”

He said he will see the monodrama in Tokyo.

“I would be happy if my experience will be of any help for peace,” he said.

Endo also said he would like to visit Hiroshima, to come to grips with his experience from nearly 70 years ago.'

Article originally appeared on Beyond Nuclear (https://archive.beyondnuclear.org/).
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