Masaharu Fukuyama

Singer-songwriter Fukuyama reveals he's son of A-bomb survivors

Monday 10th August, 04:48 PM JST

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TokyoShizz at 11:18 PM JST - 10th August

There is no evidence whatsoever that survivors were discriminated against.
desmosedici at 12:25 AM JST - 11th August

There is no evidence whatsoever that survivors were discriminated against.

http://www.nci.org/0new/hibakusha-jt5701.htm
pawatan at 12:35 AM JST - 11th August

http://www.nci.org/0new/hibakusha-jt5701.htm

That's not really a whole lot of evidence, mostly a few anecdotes.
Livvie at 12:38 AM JST - 11th August

There is no evidence whatsoever that survivors were discriminated against.

Perhaps no 'official' evidence (?), but every interview that I've seen from survivors of the A-bomb so far has stated otherwise.

You think they weren't treated differently? If people refuse to sit next to me on the train on a regular basis living in Tokyo, I can only imagine the shame that survivors were put through.

I can also assume that Mr. Fukuyama only now felt comfortable enough to mention this publicly, on the eve of the attacks.
aedfed at 04:47 AM JST - 11th August

It seems fairly certain that there was discrimination against hibakusha after the war, but given the shift in public opinion, this is no longer the case. Which makes this "confession" by Fukuyama seem more like a career move than the revelation of a dark family secret.
TokyoShizz at 06:37 AM JST - 11th August

Livvie, I think that's a good point. As you put it, the "discrimination" is akin to someone not sitting next to you on the train.
fishy at 09:02 AM JST - 11th August

Survivors have had hard times finding a wife/husband because their babies might be born sick or disabled. For many many years, people from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, especially women, were discriminated for the possibility of not being able to have healthy children.
cadmium at 09:38 AM JST - 11th August

So is he saying he may have been exposed to radiation while he was in utero? Is he saying he may develop some kind of radiation-related illness in the future?

I wonder if he's every written a song about the bombings?
borscht at 09:57 AM JST - 11th August

Yes, well, actually the discrimination went further than just avoiding those with keloid scars. From Nakazawa Keiji (survivor & author of Barefoot Gen):

You simply couldn’t say publicly that you were a hibakusha. The discrimination was fierce.

A generation of Nagasaki and Hiroshima survivors - even without the scars - found it difficult to marry because they had been exposed to radiation. (Private investigators made a fortune investigating the backgrounds of suspected survivors.) Which is why Fukuyama's parents married each other; both survived and knew they were okay.

My landlady in Nagasaki was a survivor of Hiroshima and told me many survivors were discriminated against for marriage, jobs, education, and even health benefits - the Hiroshima Maidens being the most publicized (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Maidens). They were somehow 'tainted' by their horrible experience. Which is why she married a Nagasaki survivor. This discrimination is not talked about by 'normal' Japanese - now - because it makes them look like the jerks they are.
Livvie at 12:05 PM JST - 11th August

Livvie, I think that's a good point. As you put it, the "discrimination" is akin to someone not sitting next to you on the train.

TokyoShizz, I apologize if it seems that I was likening my experiences here in Japan to what the hibakusha went through, as that was not my intention. I was merely trying to show an example of how fear and lack of understanding can make people do irrational (for lack of a better term) things.

To be completely honest, I was hoping that you would explain your point on lack of evidence further.
Izumisano at 02:02 AM JST - 12th August

Actually, he's never made it a secret. He's been saying this literally every year on his radio programme around this time, to bring attention to the discrimination and the effects of war. His fans in Japan were very surprised with the way the press reported it. His message in the actual radio show, was not that he is second generation hibakusha, but that we shouldn't forget this histiry. It's a well known fact that his father had a Survivors health handbook at home in Nagasaki.
sfjp330 at 06:29 AM JST - 13th August

Hibakura has been Japanese institutional racism caused by lack of knowledge about the consequences of radiation sickness, which people believed to be hereditary or even contagious. You see less and less today, and they are now accepted as a normal part of society.
The758 at 08:55 AM JST - 14th August

Sounds like a ploy to garner publicity and ¥¥¥
Mayura at 02:28 PM JST - 20th August

So, is that why he still remained unmarried?

Nevertheless, I still like his dramas and songs a lot. ^^
fukuyama at 12:50 AM JST - 29th August

his songs are great.

He has recently released new album and i have bought it