;

(4)

AL Yuu Nourse

(5)

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

its home port of Yai:

-OPCN ¢, tne vessel SMlitea 1U

waere it arrived at 0600 >onuo

headaches and some of them were nauseous.

oh

4,

vurse Lowara

In 7 or 8 days, evidence of burs

on exposed parts 2f the bé@y 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

Fishermants 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,
and ~
» who were in more serious
condition left the Kyoritsu on March 15 for Tokyo where they visited Doctor
Shimizu at the Tokyo University Hospital,
(3) Professor Shiokawa made radiation measurements of the ship on
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 2h, 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 frierdjly to both Dr. Morton and myself

Despite this, the

Declassifieg

(2) There was much evidence of rivalry among various Japanese medical
groups. 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 reasans that the patients remain there. Their lack of cooperation
with the American scientists may have been motivated by their knowledge that

DO.D Dir 5200.1
6

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.
Tsuzuki's friendliness, or because he lacked influence on his japanese
colleagues,

f

Declassified
DOD pir 5200.10

until the time of his departure for Geneva on March 31.

the Americans advised that the patients be transferred to Tokyo.
2

PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED

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\

ard

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