Examines how Japanese citizens mobilized to secure legal recognition and moral redress for South Korean atomic bomb survivors.

For decades, Japan's predominantly victim-conscious atomic bomb discourse marginalized these former colonial subjects, trapping them in postwar abandonment and excluding them from domestic relief. This book traces how, in order to dismantle this system of exclusion, Japanese civil society initiated a vital process of transitional justice from below. By producing epistemic studies through fact-finding surveys and providing medical, financial, and legal assistance, advocates built an infrastructure of listening that empowered Korean survivors to overcome the compounded traumas of colonialism and war. This transborder advocacy operated as a dual mechanism: pursuing legal reconciliation through court victories, while simultaneously facilitating personal reconciliation to unsettle enduring colonial legacies.

Ultimately, the book demonstrates that although the limitations of this small-scale movement must be recognized, its significance remains profound. Through decades-long advocacy, citizens of the former colonial power championed the rights of Korean hibakusha, culminating in landmark victories that granted near-equal rights. By fracturing long-standing institutional silence, this grassroots solidarity initiated a delayed yet crucial process of decolonization for these historically neglected survivors.