In Photos: Japan's remaining WWII aircraft bunkers blend in with modern landscape
Image 1 of 12
The Joi No. 1 entaigo bunker, which once stored military aircraft to protect them from enemy air raids, is seen in Usa, Oita Prefecture, on May 18, 2025. A Zero fighter engine and propeller recovered from the waters off Kunisaki are currently displayed at the center of the facility. (Mainichi/Kaho Kitayama)
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The Mainichi
4 days ago
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2 Hiroshima A-bomb survivors share experiences with 15 students in London, urge action
LONDON (Mainichi) -- Two survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bombing held a dialogue with a group of 15 university students here on June 15, sharing their experiences from the 1945 blast and urging them to spread their wishes for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Teruko Yahata, 87, and Kunihiko Iida, 82, were both exposed to the U.S. atomic bombing in the city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel, which is said to be a nuclear state, and Iran, which has been promoting its nuclear development program, both Yahata and Iida warned that an escalation of the use of force could lead to nuclear warfare and urged the students to share their wishes for nuclear weapons abolition and convey them to their government. Yahata was 8 years old when the atomic bomb was detonated above Hiroshima. She and her eight family members were at their home about 2.5 kilometers from the hypocenter. Yahata was blown about 5 meters away by the blast, and when she regathered, her face was covered with blood. "My happy childhood was completely changed by the atomic bomb. I was so starving that I had to eat frogs and locusts," she revealed to the students. "If a nuclear weapon is used, we will no longer be able to live on Earth," she repeatedly emphasized. "I hope you, young people, will take the imminent crisis as your own problem, and build peace," she said, as if trying to wring out her voice. Iida was 3 years old when he was exposed to the atomic bomb alongside his family. His family members died after the bombing, leaving him orphaned. He has since suffered from various aftereffects. "The world has not understood the realities of the damage wrought by the atomic bombing," Iida pointed out. "Near the hypocenter, in particular, most things were turned into white ash, and not even human remains nor their belongings were left," he explained. "It is most important to pass down the misery of the atomic bombing and continue to seek peace," he stressed. The students in attendance appreciated the importance of "peace without nuclear weapons" and actively asked questions to the hibakusha, or A-bomb survivors, about the power of the atomic bombs and what non-nuclear nations can do to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons. George Beveridge, 24, said after the dialogue that he could well understand the horrors of nuclear weapons, and that though it may be difficult for Britain alone to abandon nuclear arms, he wanted to tell his government to promote nuclear abolition by encouraging other nuclear powers to do so, too. Yahata and Iida have been continuing to share their stories about their bombing experiences in various parts of Japan and abroad. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the two held a speech in Paris on June 13 and in London on June 16.
The Mainichi
6 days ago
- The Mainichi
In Photos: Japan's remaining WWII aircraft bunkers blend in with modern landscape
Image 1 of 12 The Joi No. 1 entaigo bunker, which once stored military aircraft to protect them from enemy air raids, is seen in Usa, Oita Prefecture, on May 18, 2025. A Zero fighter engine and propeller recovered from the waters off Kunisaki are currently displayed at the center of the facility. (Mainichi/Kaho Kitayama)
The Mainichi
6 days ago
- The Mainichi
'Silent storytellers': 11 aircraft shelters in southwest Japan city recall wartime history
USA, OITA -- Eleven "entaigo" concrete bunkers, which were built to protect military aircraft from air raids, still remain in this southwestern Japan city. Visiting the places where warplanes were once housed in Usa, Oita Prefecture, this Mainichi Shimbun reporter found they are now being used as sheds and tractor garages. These wartime facilities have blended into the peaceful landscapes of modern life. The Usa Naval Air Corps was established in 1939, and around 800 personnel were stationed at the base, which was centered in the Yanagigaura area. As the war situation worsened, the base became a site for special suicide attack units in 1945, and many young men departed from there to the skies over Okinawa Prefecture. The base was targeted in air raids, and many service members and civilians lost their lives there. The concrete shelters with roofs were apparently covered with grass and other materials to make them harder to spot from the air and avoid becoming targets. The Joi No.1 entaigo bunker in the city's Joi district has been preserved as a park. It is believed that Zero fighter jets were stored there during the war, and the shelter now displays a Zero engine and propeller that were recovered from the waters off Kunisaki in northeast Oita Prefecture. A 62-year-old woman who lives near the bunker says her grandmother often talked about sharing dried sweet potatoes with kamikaze pilots. She said, "When I was a child, we used to climb on the shelters and play. It was such a normal part of the landscape. Now, young people go out of their way to come see them. As fewer people who actually lived through that time remain, I think these shelters serve as silent storytellers." (Japanese original by Kaho Kitayama, Fukuoka Photo and Video Department)
