As a child Junko loved to draw, it was her favourite thing to do.

Junko was born in Japan and lived in Hiroshima.

One day when Junko was thirteen years old, she was at home talking with her elder sister when they heard a plane fly overhead. It was a school day, but Junko was not well, so had stayed home for the day.

After she heard the plane, there was strong, blinding white lights and a sudden heat wave. Then there was a bright flash; an explosion. The next thing they knew a bomb went off and the house became a pile of rubble. Everything was black.

It was August 6, 1945. The United States had just dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and little did Japan know, three days later Nagasaki would also be bombed. Becoming one of the most horrifying, and devastating moments in world history.

As she pushed her way out of the rubble, Junko thought she was going to die.

She could not believe all the destruction around her. The buildings destroyed and the people were covered in burns.

One image she remembers clearly was a young child who was screaming as he tried to wake up his mother.

They had to walk to find somewhere safe to stay. Along with many others they found safety inside a cave. Junko was lucky that she and her family survived. Her mother and father were injured but all her family were alive. After some time she found out that 360 of her friends from school had died.

Junko studied Western Art at Kyoto University of Fine Arts. After her studies she became an art teacher.

After visiting Australia a few times, Junko decided to move to Australia in 1982. Today Junko Morimoto lives in Sydney. Since moving to Australia she has since written and illustrated children’s books.

Junko doesn’t want people to forget the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Junko shares her story to remind all people how devastating nuclear bombs are, in the hope that they will never be used again.

The anti-nuclear movement in Australia is continuing to advocate for and work towards an end to the development and use of nuclear weapons, and calls on nuclear powers around the world to commit to disarming nuclear weapons.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was founded in Melbourne in 2007, is a global movement with over 300 organisations in more than 90 countries.

We are calling on the Australian government to support negotiations for an international treaty banning nuclear weapons.

After hearing stories such as Junko’s, and remembering the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki it is hard to imagine why nuclear weapons still exist today.

More information about ICAN Australia can be found here: http://icanw.org.au/