Hiroshima: What happened to the survivors of the atomic bomb?
75 years ago US President Harry Truman gave the order to drop an atomic bomb on a city for the first time in history.Hiroshima was the first of two Japanese cities to be attacked by nuclear weapons that month and with no warning “the greatest scientific gamble in history” was on its way.Some 70,000 people were instantly killed - around 140,000 by the end of that year.Codenamed “Little Boy” the bomb destroyed almost everything in ten square kilometres leaving only one building standing.Many of those who escaped the blast were homeless, alone and had years of poor health to come.But what happened to the atomic bomb survivors?Victims of “black rain” - the cause of many radiation related illnesses - were unable to receive health care benefits because they were considered outside the affected zone.Until a landmark ruling came into place this July after a lengthy campaign.While other survivors faced discrimination of a different kind, shunned from society and forced to relive the painful memories of that day.To mark the 75th anniversary Michiko Kodama has shared her story of what life was like years after the deadly bomb dropped.