Buildings damaged in Hiroshima bombing set to be torn down

HIROSHIMA >> The Hiroshima prefectural government has decided to demolish two of the three buildings it possesses at the former Imperial Japanese Army’s military supplies factory, and preserve just the exterior of the remaining one, government officials said.

With the windows’ steel shutters distorted by the blast of the 1945 atomic bomb, the buildings have symbolized the horror of the attack for generations. But as they have aged, it has become difficult and costly to maintain them.

Atomic bomb survivors are nonetheless expressing opposition to the plan.

The factory was built in 1913 and used as a base for producing military uniforms and shoes. It is located less than 2 miles from ground zero, and in the days after the bombing, served as a first-aid station. Four three-story reinforced concrete buildings remain. Three belong to the prefectural government and the central government owns the fourth.

Assessments by the prefectural government have cautioned that the buildings are at risk of collapsing in the event of a level 6 earthquake, based on the Japanese intensity scale of 7.

While bomb survivors have pressed for the buildings to be preserved, repairs would hit a hefty 8.4 billion yen (about $77.4 million), leading to the decision to maintain just the exterior of the building closest to ground zero.

The prefectural government is hoping to earmark about 800 million yen (about $7.4 million) in the 2020 budget to carry out reinforcement work on the outer walls of the building.

The Hiroshima city government registers buildings that symbolize the suffering caused by the bombing. The number of registered structures now total 86, down by 12 from 1996.

“The cruelty of the atomic bombing can only be handed down by keeping (the buildings) the way they are,” said 89-year-old Iwao Nakanishi of Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, who was injured in the attack on the factory. “I absolutely cannot accept demolishing (two of) them.”