Testimony to the Atom Bomb - A Survivor Speaks

Teruko Yahata was 8 years old when she was exposed to the atomic bomb while in the backyard of her home, on her way to the neighbouring house. She was 2.5 km from the hypocentre at the time.

It is estimated that the two atomic bombs that were dropped in August 1945 killed 140,000 people in Hiroshima, and a further 74,000 in Nagasaki, while many thousands more died of burns and radiation injuries in subsequent years.

Teruko Yahata has devoted herself to sharing her experience, to help the world-at-large understand what happened to our sisters and brothers on that fateful day, and how it should never be allowed to occur again.

We are honoured to have Teruko Yahata visit us at UWA to share her story.

This event will include a short introductory talk by Dr Tilman Ruff AO, on the progress being made in Australia towards the abolition of Nuclear Weapons.

Dr Tilman A Ruff AO, MB, BS (Hons), FRACP is Immediate past Co-President, Board member, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (Nobel Peace Prize 1985) and Founding international and Australian Chair, co-founder, Australian Committee member, International Steering Group co-representative, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN, Nobel Peace Prize 2017).

This talk is presented by the UWA Institute of Advanced Studies.

Ms Teruko Yahata is visiting Perth as part of a special exhibition at the Holmes a Court Gallery: Never Again, The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition | 10 May – 21 June 2025.

Never Again, The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition is a travelling exhibition from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, presented in collaboration with the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Free Western Australia.