In the late stages of World War II, the United States did not hesitate to use atomic bombs for the first time in history to force Japan to surrender and end a conflict that lasted over three and a half years in the Pacific, resulting in millions of casualties. On August 6, 1945, American forces targeted the city of Hiroshima with the atomic bomb "Little Boy," and three days later, the second atomic bomb "Fat Man" was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. According to some estimates, the bombing of both cities resulted in the deaths of over 180,000 people and the complete destruction of both cities. Amidst these events, Japanese man Tsutomu Yamaguchi miraculously survived both atomic bombs as he was present in each city at the moment of their targeting.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, born in Nagasaki in 1916, joined the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in the 1930s. In 1941, Yamaguchi strongly opposed his country's entry into World War II. As Japan began to retreat in the Pacific and Japanese factories struggled to find raw materials to support the war machine, Yamaguchi planned to end his life if Japan announced it would surrender.
During the summer of 1945, he was sent on a six-month assignment in Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945, Yamaguchi was preparing to leave Hiroshima and return to Nagasaki.
As he walked near a number of docks in Hiroshima that day, he noticed an American plane and described it dropping something strange around 8:15 AM. Later, he recounted seeing a white light and flames and falling into a nearby trench, miraculously escaping death. Following the bombing of Hiroshima, Yamaguchi suffered a ruptured eardrum, partial blindness, and burns to various parts of his body. He spent the night in a shelter before making his way back to Nagasaki, where he received hospital treatment before heading to work on time on August 9, enduring the pain from his burns.
Around 11 AM, Yamaguchi was at his workplace. While recounting what had happened in Hiroshima to some colleagues, he was startled by the sound of another explosion, the result of the atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki. Fortunately for Yamaguchi, his workplace was located about 3 kilometers from the bomb's impact site. As a result, the building he was in was not significantly affected by the blast. Despite surviving the bombing of Nagasaki, Yamaguchi experienced additional injuries, including severe vomiting and a fever that lasted for a week.
When asked about his survival from both atomic bombs, Yamaguchi expressed that he did not realize what was happening at the time and was concerned about the mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion following him to Nagasaki.
