August 2025

Naoko’s book ‘The Martyr and the Red Book’ was featured in The Times as one of seven must-read books about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Other books on the list included John Hersey’s Hiroshima from 1946, Kazuo Ishiguro’s A Pale View of Hills (1982) and Takashi Nagai’s The Bells of Nagasaki (1949). My book was the only one written this century. The Times wrote that ‘Abe’s understated style serves her well in recounting the appalling details of the Nagasaki bombing’s aftermath.’              

      August 9 2025 was the 80th anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing –three days after Hiroshima. Naoko was invited to give a speech by Pastor Ian Stackhouse at his Guildford Baptist Church on the day.                                         Naoko talked about the Nagasaki bombing through the eyes of the 17-year-old boy, Kōichi Tagawa (later known as Tōmei Ozaki).  Kōichi survived the bombing because he was working in an underground factory making torpedoes. His mother, who was at home, was killed instantly.  He became an orphan.    Amazingly, he kept a