Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a Japanese marine engineer and the only person officially recognized by the Japanese government as having survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a Japanese marine engineer and the only person officially recognized by Japan as having survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. His story is a powerful reminder of civilian survival in nuclear warfare and a call for disarmament.

What it is

Tsutomu Yamaguchi (1916–2010) was a marine engineer for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. He was in Hiroshima on a business trip when the first atomic bomb was dropped on 6 August 1945. After surviving that blast, he returned to Nagasaki and lived through the second bombing on 9 August 1945.

Why it matters

Yamaguchi is the only person officially recognized by the Japanese government as a double hibakusha — a survivor of both atomic attacks. He later became a public advocate for nuclear disarmament, and his story is widely cited as a testament to human resilience and the horrors of nuclear war.

Key details

Born in 1916, Yamaguchi died in 2010 at age 93. He was near the blast zones in both cities but survived. Official recognition came in 2009, and he spent his later years speaking out against nuclear weapons. His life is often referenced in discussions of survival and peace advocacy.