Hiroshima International Council for Health Care of the Radiation-exposed

 HICARE　International Symposium 75 years since the atomic bombings, 30 years since the establishment of HICARE and 10 years since Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident

- for the world for the next 30 years -

To mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings, the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear accident, and the 30th anniversary of the founding of HICARE, we held  International Symposium looking back on its own efforts and those of its constituent institutions to date, and present visions for the future.

[Keynote Speech]    Chair:Ohstura Niwa (Chairman, RERF) 

Title: " IAEA Human Health activities and cooperation with HICARE – looking back at the  past and into the future "

Speaker: May Abdel-Wahab　（Director, Division of Human health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications　 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  M.D., Ph.D.）

[SymposiumⅠ]   Chair：Ryo Maeda （Director, Health Management & Promotion Center, Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Casualty Council）

- Kazunori Kodama (Executive Director, Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) M.D., Ph.D.)

  "A look back at the 30-year history of HICARE"

- Satoshi Tashiro (Director, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University (RIRBM)　M.D., Ph.D.)

  "Efforts/activities by Hiroshima University’s Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine (RIRBM) & its future plans"

- Arifumi Hasegawa (Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine M.D., Ph.D.)

  "Giving Back - in Light of Support and Lessons Learned"

- Noboru Takamura (Professor, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University  M.D., Ph.D.)

  "From Nagasaki to the World: Activities of Nagasaki Association for Hibakushas’ Medical Care (NASHIM)"

- Yasushi Nagata (Professor & Chairman, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Hiroshima University Director, Hiroshima High-precision Radio-therapy Cancer Center, M.D.,Ph.D.)

   "Radiation therapy up to date"

[Sympojium II  ]    Chair: Kazunori Kodama (Executive Director, Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) M.D., Ph.D.

- Panel Discussion by the panelists and the chair of SymposiumⅠ

- Wataru Imanaka (Special Advisor to The Chugoku Shimbun Co., Ltd.)

>> Report

HICARE held a public lecture for the purpose of providing people with the accurate knowledge on radiation which is used in various fields of daily life such as medical field, as well as letting them think about the background of the A-bomb exposure and also the radiation effects on human body learned from it.

Dr. Ohtsura Niwa, chairman of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, gave a lecture mainly on the research results regarding radiation effects on human body. While Dr. Satoshi, director of the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University, gave a lecture on their studies regarding the health effects of medical irradiation and other matters. Attended by 135 audience, both lectures greatly gained their attentions.

A special lecture by HICARE was held at a secondary school in Hiroshima. The purpose of the lecture is to have the students understood Hiroshima’s contribution to the world in the field of medical care of radiation-exposed people. We hope the students be ambitious and become the persons who contribute to the world.

Lecturer Dr. Kodama talked to the students about his experiences of past such as working as a resident at the Hospital of St Raphael, Yale University and visiting all over the world to attend international conferences. He showed them many pictures taken around the world to attract their interest.

Dr. Kodama said, “It is my treasure to have met a lot of wonderful people around the world,.” and encouraged the students to value every encounter and to succeed globally in the future.

He also told them there are many people exposed to radiation by nuclear tests or accidents in the world and  explained that Hiroshima has contributed to medical care for those people.

At the end of the leture, he asked the students to think what they can do against the threat of nuclear arms and global warming, which are the biggest problems for humans.

After the lecture, students said “I want to know more about the atomic bomb and radiation,” “I want to study abroad and learn a lot,” “I want to be a person who can tell people of the world about Hiroshima.”