Soviet Union. Embassy (Japan)

A group of staff members from the Soviet Embassy in Tokyo interviewed Japanese witnesses of the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They found that the two bombs wreaked havoc on the bodies of those within a small radius of the explosion; most survivors exhibited severe burns, a decreased white blood cell count, and injuries from broken glass. Witnesses from outside this radius faced less severe injuries, and the Embassy staff note that the Japanese press has been exaggerating the effects of the atomic bomb in order to justify the nation’s unconditional surrender.

Soviet representatives being sent to Italy, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Italy, are instructed to visit the head of state or the minister of foreign affairs and relay the oral declarations contained in this document. The country-specific oral declarations reinforce the Soviet position against the use of nuclear technology for militaristic objectives and object to proposed measures that would undermine the efficacy of the NPT.