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At O4lD-ours on March’ 2, the vessel shifted its course toward

(5)

In the following two cr three days, all the crew reported slight

its home port of Yaizu, where it arrived at 0600 on March 14,
headaches and some of them were nauseous.

In 7 or 8 days, evidence of burns

on exposed parts of the body began to appear,

In response to certain questions which the Ambassador asked the
Foreign Service, the following information was received. It sheds some
light on the sequence of events during the 2 days following the return
of the Fukuryu Maru to Yaizu, but before the mishap had come to the
attention of the Embassy.

(1)

The crew first contacted the ship's owner, and the director of the

Fisherman's union,

On the day of their return crew members who were seriously

affected consulted a physician of the Kyoritsu Hospital,
(2)

Two of the fishermen, Yamamoto and Masuda, who were in more serious

(3)

Professor Shiokawa made radiation measurements of the ship on

condition left the Kyoritsu on March 15 for Tokro where they visited Doctor
Shimizu at the Tokyo University Hospital.
March 16 and on the basis of his findings all of the crew members consulted
a physician who recommended that the men be hospitalized,
THE ROLE OF THE JAPANESE SCIENTISTS
:
During the latter half of March the Japanese press was fed continually
with sensational statements from Japanese Scientists. The motivations
of the Japanese were never quite understood by us but the following factors

may be enumerated as pertinent to our lack of progress in dealing with them:

(1)

In a long private conversation that I had with Dr. Tsuzuki at his

home on the evening of March 24, he was frank in stating his apprehension
that the American scientists would deny him and his associates professional
recognition due them for their accomplishments in the diagnosis and treat-

ment of the fishermen. He referred frequently to his experience in 19h5
when he lead the teams of Japanese investigators into Hiroshima and Nagasaki

only to have his work interrupted by the Occupation investigators who
undertook their own studies. Dr. Tsuzuki seemed to accept my assurances that
in the present situation it was the intent of the American scientists to
assist the Japanese and that all of our findings would be available to them
and could be used as they saw fit in their own publications.
Dr. Tsuzuki was outwardly frierily to both Dr. Morton and myself

until the time cf his departure for Geneva on March 31,

Despite this, the

lack of cooperation continued to be manifest on the part of the Japanese
investigators, I do not know whether this was because we misjudged Dr.
Tsuzukits friendliness, or because he lacked influence on his japanese
colleagues,

(2)

There was much evidence of rivalry among various Japanese medical

groupse In particular, the staff at Tokyo University headed by Dr. Tsuzuki,
were initially at odds with the group at the National Institute of Health,
headed by Dr. Kobayashi. Moreover, the local physicians at Yaizu, where
all but two of the patients were hospitalized until March 29, were anxious
for various reasons that the patients remain there, Their lack of cooperation
with the American scientists may have been motivated by their knowledge that
the Americans advised that the patients be transferred to Tokyo.

‘UNCLASSIFIED

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