Shigeko Sasamori, a survivor of the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima who underwent reconstructive surgery for her scars in the United States, died last month at her home in California, The New York Times has reported. She was 92.
Sasamori, one of the "Hiroshima Maidens" -- women who suffered disfiguring injuries from the attack and traveled to the United States for keloid treatment -- campaigned for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
She died on Dec 15 at her home in Marina del Rey in the western U.S. state, the newspaper said, without citing the cause of her death.
Sasamori, born in the western Japan city in 1932, was hit by the blast of the bomb on Aug 6, 1945, at age 13, about 1.5 kilometers from ground zero. She sustained severe burns, including to her face and hands.
She was one of 25 young women disfigured by the bomb who were selected to undergo surgery at a Manhattan hospital as part of a mission organized by the late U.S. writer Norman Cousins, the newspaper said.
After returning to Japan, she left for the United States again and continued to share her experiences while living there.
