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VAG) ACT MATERIAL TEyayED

following two.or ivee Gay Talltin crewreported slight

baadaches intsome of thea were.nagpeedst, pitaFor § days, evidence of bums

onyexppedparts of the bey began to appear.

In response to certain questions which the Ambassador asked the

2

Foreign Service, the following information was received, It sheds some
light on the sequence of events during the 2 days following the retum

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of the Fukuryu Maru to Yaisu, but before the mishap had come to the

attention of the Embassy,

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

I “EPR ee 8

(1)

Fisherman's union.

On the day of their return crew members tho were seriously

affected consulted a physician of the Kyoritau Hospita:,

(2)

Two of the fishermen,

and

, Who were in more serious

condition left the Kyoritsu on March 15 for Tokyo where they visited Doctor
Shimisu 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.

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THE ROLE OF THE JAPANESE SCIENTISTS
During the latter half of March the Japanese presa was fed continually

with sensational statements from Japanese Scientists, The motivations
of the Japanese wore never quite understood by us but the following factors

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

(1) In a long private conversation that I had with Dr. Tavzul § his
home on the evening of March 2h, he was frank in stating his appr
that the American scientists would deny him and his asvrociates pr te. crin -

recognition due them for their accomplishments in the diagnosis and treatment of the fishermen. He referred frequently to his experience in 19L5

.

when he lead the teams of Japanese investigators into Hiroshima and Nagasaki
only to have his work interrupted by the Occupation investigators wh-

undertook their own studies.

Dr, Tsuzuki seemed to accept my assuruaces thac

in the present situation it was the intent of the American scientists tc

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 frierijly to both Dr. Morton and myself
until the time of his departure for Geneva on March 31. Despite this, the
lack of cooperation continued to be manifest on the part of the Japanese

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(2) There was much evidence of rivalry among varic.
~ .pancse :sdical
groups. In particular, the staff at T.nyo Universivy ©
6
SY 7 eT we Oy

were initaally at odds with the group at the National institurve of Yea. -,
headed by Dr. Kobayashi, Moreover, the local ph‘s‘cians at Yaizu, mere

all but two of the patients were hospitalized until Maret: 23 were anxious
for various reasons that the patients remain there. [heir lack of cuoneration

with the American scientists may have been motivated by their krowiedge that

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colleagues,

the Americans advised that the patients be transferred to Toky-,.

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investigators, Ido not know whether this was because we misjudged Dr.
Tauzukils friendliness, or because he ldcked influence on his japanese

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