今年も8月6日に東千田キャンパスの原爆死没者追悼之碑において、国内外のゲストの方を交え、原爆で亡くなられた本学の学生、生徒、教職員の皆さんを追悼し、核兵器の廃絶や平和の実現を誓いました。広島大学の重要な使命の一つは、テロ、紛争、貧困、環境破壊、感染症などの諸問題を解決に導き、平和で持続可能な社会の実現を目指すことです。紛争の絶えない世界に向け、平和の実現につながるメッセージを発信し続けていくことが私たちの重要なミッションの一つです。

　今春、「原爆の父」と呼ばれた物理学者ロバート・オッペンハイマーの半生を描いた米国の映画『オッペンハイマー』が、広島で上映されました。彼は、米国政府から原爆の開発を担い完成させますが、広島への投下による惨状に、開発したことを後悔し、水爆開発に異を唱えます。しかし、その行動が米国政府から非難され、英雄から転落していく半生が描かれています。心理的葛藤を複雑に描写した卓越な手法で、観客に感動を与えることができたためでしょう、2024年のアカデミー賞で作品賞など7部門を受賞しました。

　しかしながら、広島市民としては彼の心情に共感し、映画にのめりこむことはできませんでした。彼一人の苦悩の向こうには、広島で約14万人もの人が亡くなったという事実があり、今でも後遺症に苦しんでいる人がいる現実があります。そして、今も３つ目の核爆弾の投下が起こらないよう、被爆者がそのつらい体験を具体的に訴え続け、広島市も世界へその非道さを発信し続けています。昨年のＧ７広島サミットで、各国首脳が原爆資料館を訪れ、直接見てもらったように、『オッペンハイマー』を観て感動した方々には、ぜひ広島に足を運んでいただき、映画に描出されなかった事実を知っていただくことが平和な未来への第一歩だと思っています。

　あの日の惨劇を記した書籍には、広島県出身で文化勲章受賞者の阿川弘之氏による『魔の遺産』や「世界に羽ばたく。教養の力」の講師で、本学総合科学部出身の堀川惠子氏による『チンチン電車と女学生』など多くのものがあります。『魔の遺産』には、被爆から7年後の市民生活や後遺症に苦しむ被爆者が、『チンチン電車と女学生』には、路面電車の運転を担った女学生らに起きた悲劇が、いずれも詳細に描かれています。学生諸君はこれらの本の一冊をぜひ読んでいただき、広島大学生として核兵器の怖さや被爆者の苦しみを見つめ、平和の実現に向け何ができるか考えてもらいたいと思います。

　私たち人類は二度と同じ過ちを犯さないよう、過去のつらい経験を学んできました。広島大学では、「平和を希求する精神」を理念の第一に掲げ、「平和センター」で平和を調査・研究し、学生の皆さんも、選択必修科目「平和科目」や「ピース・レクチャー・マラソン」などで過去に学び、平和への理解を深めてきました。さらに昨年５月からは、５つの重要課題「５イニシアティブ」を策定し、平和を「創る」大学を目指しています。
 

　今年は初夏にオッペンハイマー氏の孫、チャールズ氏が広島を訪れ、小倉桂子氏ら被爆体験証言者と対話をしました。チャールズ氏は、「人類として原爆を含めあらゆる爆弾を使ってはならない」と訴えたそうです。彼にも広島での体験を生かし、平和の実現に向けた行動を起こしてほしいと願っています。広島大学も75+75周年を弾みとして、平和の実現につながるさまざまな取り組みを加速してまいります。

Atomic Bomb Day came around again on 6th August this year. On that day, the‘Hiroshima University Memorial Service for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb’ was held on the Higashi-Senda Campus, where guests from Japan and abroad joined us to commemorate our students, faculty and administrative members who fell victim to the atomic bombing. During the ceremony, we all pledged to abolish nuclear weapons and realize peace. One of the important missions of Hiroshima University is to help bring about solutions to global issues such as terrorism, conflict, poverty, environmental destruction, and infectious diseases, in order to bring about a peaceful and sustainable society. One of our key roles is to continue to spread peace-facilitating messages across the world, which is in constant conflict.

Hiroshima saw the release of the U.S. film ‘Oppenheimer’ this spring, which depicts the life of theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer, known as the ‘father of the atomic bomb’. In 1942, he was appointed by the U.S. government to work on an assignment that entailed developing the atomic bomb; he and his team in the end completed the mission successfully. However, after recognizing the catastrophic damage of the atomic bombing to Hiroshima, Oppenheimer regretted having developed the bomb. After that, he started to oppose the development of the hydrogen bomb. This conviction of Oppenheimer was condemned by the U.S. government. From that point onwards, the film depicts his downfall from a national hero. The film won seven Academy Awards in 2023, including Best Picture, because it eloquently depicts Oppenheimer’s complex psychological conflict, which in turn moved audiences around the world.
 

However, as a citizen of Hiroshima city, I could neither identify with his sentiments nor could I get absorbed in the film. More important than Oppenheimer’s conscientious objections is the fact that some 140,000 people fell victim to the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, and that still today some people are suffering from the after-effects of the bombing. To prevent any country from dropping a third nuclear bomb in the world, the hibakusha (the atomic bomb survivors) have been sharing their tragic experiences with people around the world, while Hiroshima city also has long been engaged in conveying the atrocity of the atomic bombing to the world. Indeed, last year the leaders of the G7 nations visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum during the G7 Hiroshima Summit, having the opportunity to see the grim reality of the atomic bomb. Likewise, those who were moved by ‘Oppenheimer’ are encouraged to visit the museum in Hiroshima in order to learn some historical facts that were not depicted in the film. This would be the first step for the world to move
toward realizing a peaceful future.
 

Some of the books that portray the tragedy of the day of the bombing in Hiroshima include ‘Ma no Isan (The Devil’s Heritage)’ by Hiroyuki Agawa, a native of Hiroshima Prefecture and a recipient of the Order of Culture. Another book is ‘Chinchin Densha to Jyogakusei (The trams and female students)’ by Keiko Horikawa (together with a co-author). Horikawa, a former graduate of the School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, is also a lecturer of ‘Becoming a Global Citizen: Lecture by Special Instructor’ at Hiroshima University.
 

In ‘The Devil’s Heritage’, the author describes the lives of citizens seven years after the atomic bombing and the hibakusha suffering from the aftereffects of the bombing. In ‘The trams and female students’, the author describes in detail the tragedy that befell the female students who were assigned to drive the trams in the city. I strongly encourage everyone, especially our students, to read one of these books. In so doing, please think about what you can do to help realize peace and try to understand the horror of nuclear weapons and the suffering of the hibakusha.
 

Human beings have always learned lessons from their painful experiences in the past, in order to never make the same mistakes again. We have always been committed to deepening our understanding of peace. For example, the
university upholds ‘The Pursuit of Peace’ as its first Guiding Principle; the Hiroshima University Center for Peace is engaged in fieldwork and research on peace; and students learn something from history by studying one of our compulsory subjects, such as ‘Peace Science Courses’ or ‘Peace Lecture Marathon’. In addition, we formulated the ‘President 5 Initiatives for Peace Sciences’ last May, with the aim of becoming a university that ‘creates’ peace.
 

This year, Charles Oppenheimer, grandson of Robert Oppenheimer, visited Hiroshima in early summer, during which he had a dialogue with Keiko Ogura and other A-bomb survivors. Charles said to Keiko, ‘As human beings, we must not use any kind of bomb, including the atomic bomb.’ I sincerely hope that he will make the best use of his experience in Hiroshima to start taking action toward world peace. Hiroshima University will use the 75+75th anniversary as an impetus to accelerate various initiatives that will help to realize world peace.