Atomic Bomb Survivors’ Messages for Future Generations: Insights from the Process of Testifying to Their Lived Experiences for Peace

This study aimed to systematically understand how Japanese atomic bomb survivors (Hibakusha) confront their experiences and construct peace messages. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven Hibakusha aged 84–92 years who mainly testified to children from elementary to high school. In the interviews, participants were asked about their motivations, conflicts, and perspectives on peace. As a result of category analysis, a Modified Grounded Theory Approach, six Categories and 22 Concepts were generated and presented as conceptual diagrams. The results indicate that Hibakusha struggled with challenges, such as recalling traumatic events, societal discrimination, and internal conflict, with the psychological invasion of sharing their experiences. However, motivated by a sense of being understood by non-victims about their desire for peace and responsibility to prevent a similar tragedy and a growing sense of danger due to waning peace awareness, they were encouraged to share their experiences. The findings show that sharing tragic historical memories is a reciprocal process between the narrator and listener, with narrators allowing their memories to be interpreted and contextualized by others. This reveals that the environment and attitudes of listeners impact the feasibility and nature of the victims’ testimonies.