Eighty Years on From Hiroshima

Eighty years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a global norm of nuclear non-use has prevailed despite rising arsenals and possessors. However, recent geopolitical tensions and nuclear modernisation are now straining this fragile restraint.

The Catastrophe of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• Little Boy: On 6 August 1945, at 8:15 AM, the United States dropped an atomic bomb, named ‘Little Boy’, on Hiroshima, Japan. This single act immediately killed 7,000 people. 
• Fatman: Three days later, on 9 August, another nuclear bomb, named ‘Fatman’, was dropped on Nagasaki. This attack instantly killed 400 people, with many more dying later due to radiation.
• Initial Deception: According to one survivor from Nagasaki, shortly after the bombing, U.S. Brig Gen Thomas Farrell announced that all those affected by the attack had died and that there were no continuing effects of the bomb. 
  • Relief centres were shut down. 
  • By the end of 1945, the death toll from the Hiroshima attack reached 70,000 people, with many succumbing to injuries and nuclear radiation effects in the months following the bombing without understanding what ailed them.

The Struggle of the Hibakusha

• The survivors of the nuclear attacks were named ‘Hibakusha’. 
• These individuals were profoundly affected but managed to survive the initial blasts. 
• Their voices, initially suppressed by the US occupation of Japan after World War II, were crucial in revealing the true brutality of nuclear warfare.

Castle Bravo Test (1954)

• The United States conducted a thermonuclear test named ‘Castle Bravo’ in the Pacific.
• The explosion was twice as powerful as anticipated, causing widespread radioactive fallout.
• The Japanese fishing boat ‘Lucky Dragon’, located 86 miles away, was exposed to the fallout.
• All crew members suffered acute radiation sickness, highlighting the long-term human impact of nuclear weapons.

Global Awakening to Radiation Sickness

• The Lucky Dragon incident forced global acknowledgment that nuclear weapons cause not just instant deaths, but slow and painful radiation-related suffering.
• This shifted the discourse around nuclear weapons from strategic utility to humanitarian consequences.

Emergence of Hibakusha Advocacy: Nihon Hidankyo

• Following this revelation, the Hibakusha formed a group called ‘Nihon Hidankyo’. 
• Members of this group travelled globally, sharing their personal experiences of the nuclear attacks. Their efforts built a powerful moral case against nuclear weapons worldwide. 
• Their significant contributions were recognised when Nihon Hidankyo received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 for their work.

Nuclear Non Use

Since 1945, no further nuclear attacks have occurred. This absence can be attributed to two main factors:

• The moral case developed by groups like Nihon Hidankyo, which stigmatised the use of nuclear weapons.
• The theory of deterrence, where the acquisition of nuclear weapons by more nations (like the USSR) created a fear of mutually assured destruction, preventing any single power from initiating a nuclear war.

Modern Nuclear Landscape and Challenges

• Sophisticated Weapons: Despite a reduction in the total number of nuclear weapons since the Cold War, today’s weapons are more dangerous and sophisticated. 
• Development of tactical nukes: These are smaller, highly precise nuclear weapons designed to target specific locations without causing widespread urban destruction, making their potential ‘usability’ a serious worry. 
  • This contrasts sharply with larger thermonuclear weapons, which can destroy multiple cities simultaneously.

International Treaties and Legal Positions

• The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) prevents new countries from developing nuclear weapons. 
  • However, it does not prevent existing nuclear powers from using or disarming their arsenals.
  • The NPT’s exhortation to nuclear states to work towards total nuclear disarmament “in good faith” puts the weapons in a separate category.
• The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibits nuclear experiments but does not ban the use of nuclear weapons.
• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), established in 2017, prohibits both the use and testing of nuclear weapons. 
  • However, no nuclear-armed nation has signed this treaty, limiting its effectiveness.
• In 1996, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stated that the use of nuclear weapons would ‘generally be contrary’ to humanitarian laws, but it stopped short of issuing a definitive legal decision on their legality.

Nuclear Threats Re-emerging in Global Conflicts

• Russia’s nuclear posturing over Ukraine has challenged the long-standing norm of nuclear non-use.
• India, too, referenced nuclear risks during Operation Sindoor, warning against “nuclear blackmail.”
• These developments reflect how even limited conflicts can escalate into nuclear-tinged confrontations.

Conclusion

Eighty years after nuclear weapons were used in anger, we are in danger of slipping into complacency over nuclear use. It took the miscalculation of America’s thermonuclear test for the truth about nuclear fallout to become widely understood. We should not wait for another misstep before the dangers of nuclear miscalculation are appreciated again.