Neurological Disorders

Masahiro Sasaki

Biography

Masahiro Sasaki was born in 1941 in the Kusunokicho neighborhood of Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945, the Sasaki family became hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivors: Masahiro, his 2-year-old sister Sadako (model for the statue at the Children’s Peace Memorial in Hiroshima), his mother and his grandmother were at their home 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from the hypocenter and his father returned to the city the following day. Ten years later, Masahiro’s sister Sadako died of leukemia caused by the atomic bomb. Masahiro, along with Sadako’s classmates, raised funds for the establishment of the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima. Mr. Sasaki later founded the Sadako Legacy to extend Sadako’s message of “omoiyari no kokoro,” or compassionate heart, as an agent of peace and reconciliation. He has donated the original origami cranes to the 9/11 Tribute Center in New York, the European Peace Museum in Burgenland Province, Austria, and the National Park Service/WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument at Pearl Harbor. In 2013 Mr. Sasaki and his son,Yuji, visited Iran, where they again appealed for peace by donating of one of Sadako’s cranes. Today, he continues to speak about human rights and Sadako’s “omoiyari no kokoro” (compassionate heart) legacy for local governments, civic organizations, schools and other groups throughout Japan.

Mr. Sasaki's appearance is sponsored by the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) and the Japan Society of New York.

Research Interest

Neuroscience, Reproductive and Odontostomatologic Science, ENT and Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology