Japan scientist realized at once weapon dropped on Hiroshima was A-bomb+

TOKYO, Aug. 3 Kyodo - Yoshio Nishina, one of Japan's leading physicists during World War II, recognized that the weapon dropped on Hiroshima was an atomic bomb when he received a copy of U.S. President Harry Truman's statement a day after the bombing, a former colleague of Nishina said Sunday.

The delivery of the document, access to which was restricted in Japan, to Nishina, apparently by the official Domei News Agency, may have played a part in shaping the course of events in the run-up to Japan's surrender.

Truman's statement in the form of a press release announced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima shortly after it occurred. The statement was obtained by the news agency, translated into Japanese and printed inside its office.

The document was recently discovered inside Nishina's former office at the Riken research institute during World War II, according to Ryohei Nakane, 87, former vice president of Riken.

Nishina was working at the time as a senior researcher and was leading the Imperial Japanese Army's program to develop an atomic bomb. He apparently recognized the weapon dropped on Hiroshima was an A-bomb.

His office was later turned into the Nishina Memorial Foundation.

During the war, crucial information on enemy nations was only conveyed to top government and military leaders and it was quite unusual for a civilian such as Nishina to receive the U.S. press release.

It is possible that with the Japanese government and military unable to confirm the veracity of Truman's statement due to a lack of knowledge regarding atomic weapons, then Domei chief Inosuke Furuno decided to consult Nishina, an expert on nuclear weapons research.
''I heard several days later from Dr. Nishina's secretary that a Domei reporter, who was a friend of Dr. Nishina, delivered the Truman document on the instructions of Domei President Inosuke Furuno on the morning of Aug. 7, 1945,'' Nakane said.

The Truman statement begins by saying, ''Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb...and destroyed its (Hiroshima's) usefulness (as a key military base) to the enemy.'' The press release stated that the weapon dropped was an atomic bomb with an explosive force greater than 20,000 tons of TNT.

The world first learned about the destruction of Hiroshima through the press
release, which Domei obtained in the early morning of Aug. 7.
Japan's imperial military headquarters merely announced that the weapon was ''a new type of bomb'' and made no mention of an atomic bomb.

After hearing Nishina's assessment, Furuno traveled to Chiba Prefecture on Aug. 7 to see Count Nobuaki Makino, who was close to the emperor, and appealed for an end to the war. Makino subsequently visited the emperor on Aug. 8 and told him about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Meanwhile on Aug. 7, Nishina was on his way to Hiroshima, leaving a note for his colleague stating, ''Now comes the crucial moment.''

Nishina is not known to have ever mentioned the Truman press release.

Journalist Shimpei Miyata, an author of a book on Riken prior to the war, said, ''It's always been a mystery how Dr. Yoshio Nishina knew that Hiroshima had been hit with an A-bomb before even going there. It is possible that a Domei reporter gave the copy of Truman's statement (to Nishina). The fact that the document was stored (in Nishina's office) serves as irrefutable evidence.''

''This is the first time I've heard about this and it's a major discovery,'' he said.

Domei's Furuno had earlier said in a written statement, ''I felt the war was over the moment I heard from Dr. Nishina that he believed the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was an A-bomb.''

The Domei News Agency was disbanded after the war and split up into Kyodo News and Jiji Press. Its advertising operation was separated and became ad agency Dentsu Inc.