Overview
- Family and local media said he died at a Hiroshima hospital in mid-March, with reports variously citing Saturday, Sunday or March 14.
- He survived the Aug. 6, 1945 atomic blast at age 8 and later undertook a multi-decade investigation into victims, including captured Americans.
- His findings led U.S. authorities to confirm the deaths of 12 American servicemembers and to their recognition in Hiroshima’s victim registry and memorials.
- He authored the 2008 book “The Secret History of the American POWs Killed by the Atomic Bomb,” which received Japan’s Kikuchi Kan Prize in 2016.
- He drew global attention in 2016 when then-President Barack Obama, the first sitting U.S. leader to visit Hiroshima, embraced him at Peace Memorial Park.