HIROSHIMA PEACE CULTURE FOUNDATIONPEACE CULTURE
Vol. 1 No.77

May 2017 (semiannual)

United Nations Conference to Negotiate
a Nuclear-Weapons Ban Treaty
ganization representing one billion people, wholeheartedly welcomes this landmark vote and calls on all states
to participate constructively and in good faith in the2017 negotiations.
Today, more than 15,000 nuclear weapons, most anorder of magnitude more powerful than the bombs thatdevastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, over 90% of themheld by the United States and Russia, continue to pose
an intolerable threat to cities and humanity. With nuclear-armed countries edging ever closer to direct militaryconfrontation in conflict zones around the world, former
U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry has warned: “Theprobability of a nuclear calamity is higher today, I believe, than it was during the cold war.”In this increasingly volatile environment, the illusionof international security still depends on the threatened
use of nuclear weapons as prescribed by the doctrine of“nuclear deterrence” - a notion based on mutual distrust
and the unspeakable horror the term implies. But nuclear deterrence offers no effective solution to the global
security challenges we face. Nuclear weapons are useless both in preventing and responding to terrorism.
Their very existence brings new risks of use each day.
In this time of global upheaval and uncertainty, we
are witnessing a growing trend towards exclusivity andconservatism, in terms of both economics and diplomacy. Precisely for this reason, all states must redouble
their efforts to transcend differences and overcome obstacles through persistent dialogue and cooperation,
which are key to creating common values. This applies
especially to the nuclear disarmament process. Whilemost of the nuclear-armed states and states under their

On December 23 last year, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted by a majority vote a resolution to holda conferences in March and June/July to negotiate a legallybinding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading
towards their elimination. The legal prohibition of nuclear
weapons could become an important turning point increating a nuclear weapon-free world, and there are
expectations that this would become the first step towards
realizing the fervent wishes of the hibakusha.
Request for all United Nations member
states to participate
President Matsui (Mayor of
Hiroshima) of Mayors for Peaceissued an open letter immediately
after the resolution was passed,
calling for all states, including nuclear weapons states and thoseunder the nuclear umbrella, toproactively participate in the negotiating conference, and to earnestly address the establishmentof a nuclear weapons ban treaty. He also asked that
Mayors for Peace member cities to broadly publicize his
message.
OPEN LETTER FROM MAYORS FOR PEACE (excerpt)(December 24, 2016)
In so voting, the global majority finally acted on thefervent wish of the atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki (hibakusha), that no one else should ever
suffer as they have. Mayors for Peace, a nonpartisan or-

Aiming for 10,000 member cities by 2020
Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie of Des Moines, Iowa, a Lead City of Mayors for
Peace, addressed the US Conference of Mayors (USCM) in January of this year,
calling for US cities to work together (excerpt):“How can we elevate and leverage the USCM’s principled consistent position on nuclear
disarmament to bring the United States to the negotiating table and redirect military spending
to meet human needs?”“I invite you join me and 7,204 other members of Mayors for Peace in 162 countries, andhelp us reach our goal of 10,000 members by 2020. I encourage you to act in your city to raise public awareness of thehumanitarian impacts and financial costs of nuclear weapons, the growing dangers of wars among nuclear-armed
states, and the urgent need for good faith U.S. participation in negotiating the global elimination of nuclear weapons.”“Mayors are primarily responsible for public safety. When it comes to nuclear weapons, President Trump
should listen to America’s mayors and let us help set sensible priorities with the aspiration that our collaboration
puts the hopes, dreams and possibilities of future generations ahead of war.”1

“nuclear umbrellas” voted against the resolution, the serious sense of crisis shared by the majority of the international community must not be neglected. Participationby the nuclear-armed states in these negotiations canprovide a venue for confidence-building and constructive engagement that can contribute to de-escalation ofinternational tensions. We expect the nuclear-armed
states and their allies to take innovative approaches anddemonstrate decisive leadership in this regard.
When government representatives gather at theUnited Nations in New York, from 27-31 March and 15
June to 7 July 2017, we call on them to engage in cooperative dialogue, to overcome their political and ideological differences, and to bring us closer to achieving aworld without nuclear weapons.
(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

Hiroshima) attended the May meeting. They said thatrather than all states standing in opposition to one another, they should create an environment where discussions
are conducted with respect for mutual understanding anddiversity, and they can clearly resolve to abolish nuclear
weapons.

Actions by Mayors for Peacele a ding up t o ne go t iat ing
conference for the establishmentof a nuclear weapons ban treaty

OEWG meeting (May last year): President Matsui’s speech at theceremony of the planting of A-bomb survivor tree

At the August meeting, there was a large gap between the many non-nuclear weapon states asking for a
prompt start to negotiations for the legal prohibition of
nuclear weapons, and the states under the nuclear umbrella who said that it is too early to negotiate the legal
prohibition of nuclear weapons because of security concerns. Therefore, the adoption of the final report took agreat deal of time. On August 19, after the OEWG meeting had ended, a final report was adopted that recommended, with widespread support, “the convening of aconference in 2017, open to all states, with the participation and contribution of international organizations andcivil society, to negotiate a legally binding instrument toprohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their totalelimination.” The report was adopted with two-thirds ofthe states in favor, and the meeting was closed.

Leading up to the adoption of the United Nations resolution to start negotiations on the establishment of a nuclear weapons ban treaty, a number of steps had to be taken. At each of those different steps, Mayors for Peacemade various appeals and communicated various messages.
【Open-ended Working Group】
Three sessions of the Open-ended Working Group(OEWG) to Taking Forward Multilateral Nuclear
Disarmament Negotiations were held last year in
February, May and August at the United Nations Officein Geneva, Switzerland. The aim of the meetings was todevelop proposals on legal measures to achieve a world
free of nuclear weapons.
Prior to each of these meetings, Mayors for Peacesent an open letter to all United Nations member states,
asking that they participate proactively and hold constructive discussions for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The letter also called for the United Nations to support
Mayors for Peace activities.
In addition, Mayors for Peace Secretary-General Mr.
Komizo (Chairperson of this Foundation) attended themeeting in February and President Matsui (Mayor of【The First Committee of the United Nations
General Assembly】
In line with the United Nations General AssemblyFirst Committee that was held at UN Headquarters in
New York in October last year, Mayors for Peace issued
a message to nuclear-armed states and those under the
nuclear umbrella. Citing the examples of the 1963 agreement between President Kennedy and Premier
Khrushchev on the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty,
and the 1986 discussion between President Reagan andGorbachev on nuclear disarmament and elimination ofintermediate-range nuclear missiles, the message called
for the states to combine their courage and wisdom, exercise decisive leadership, and consider a security system that does not depend on nuclear weapons.
At the First Committee, a resolution calling for thestart of negotiations on a nuclear weapons ban treaty
was passed by a majority. Mayors for Peace reaffirmed
to member cities the important role that Mayors for
Peace plays as a bipartisan organization in the realization of the sincere wish of the hibakusha for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Mayors for Peace also calledon member cities to lobby policymakers in their own
countries to actively participate in negotiations so thatthe discussion will make progress.

OEWG meeting (February last year): Speech by the Secretary-General Komizo

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【The United Nations General Assembly】
The key points of the resolution passed at the United
Nations General Assembly in December last year on thestart of negotiations for the establishment of a nuclear
weapons convention are: (1) negotiations will be held on
legal measures for the prohibition of nuclear weapons in
New York in March and June, 2017, (2) the decisions
will be determined by majority vote at the conference inaccordance with UNGA procedures, and (3) representatives of civic society will participate and contribute to
the conferences.

Memoir of the A-Bombing:“I saw the moment that the Atomic
Bomb exploded before my very eyes
—The days that followed…Life is amysterious treasure”

by Fujio Torikoshi
Atomic Bomb Witness
for this Foundation

Leading up to the negotiation conference

Experienced the bombing in the field in front of
my homeAt the time of the bombing, I was living in a small
town called Yamate-cho. My home was in a relatively
high place at the foot of the mountain, and the SanyoLine ran in front of the house.
In 1945 the situation in the war was getting worse
and worse. As soon as I became a Grade 3 student in junior high school, we could no longer have classes atschool. Students at junior high schools and girls’ schools
at that time were involved in production work at munitions plants and were even sent to do demolition work ofbuildings in the city. I was to be sent to Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries in Gion.
I had my medical checkup on Saturday August 4. As
I was diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency known as
beriberi, I was to go to the hospital with my mother on
Monday August 6.
It was very fine weather from the morning on August
6. I was eating breakfast with my mother in the backroom when I heard a faint roar. At the time, we had been
trained to be able to tell the difference in the sounds ofdifferent aircraft engines, and I knew immediately that it
was a B-29 bomber. When I finished my breakfast I
went outside, and I stood in the field in front of ourhouse and searched the sky above. I could not see it, but
eventually the roar faded into the northeast direction.
It was right when I was gazing vacantly at the buildings in the city that I saw a blackish mass of something
floating in the sky in the distance right in front of me.
In the next instant, it suddenly burst, and transformed
into an incredible ball of light. From the middle of the
flash, there was something like melted orange-coloredlava flowing out, andaround that was aocher-colored light thatfilled the whole sky.
Suddenly everything
was bright.
All of a sudden, myface was covered by anincredibly hot blast.
Wi t h o u t t h i n k i n g I
closed my eyes, andsquatted down where I
was. And when I started to stand up again, astrong blast of wind A-bomb Drawings by Survivors “Astrange flash of light” by Mr. Ryuji
blew through, and my Ishigai

Preparatory committee for the negotiations conference (February
this year)

Mayors for Peace sees the negotiation conference asa major step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Firstly, in order to provide support to ensure that the discussion at the negotiation conference in March, 2017
moves in a positive direction, Mayors for Peace issued
an open letter to all states, including nuclear-armed
states and those under the nuclear umbrella, calling forthem to proactively participate in the conference andearnestly engage in the negotiations. At the same time,
Mayors for Peace called for all member cities to communicate this and lobby their own national governments.
Mayors for Peace Secretary-General Mr. Komizo attended the March meeting, and made various requests, asking that the opinions of citizens and NGOs of the 7,200
member municipalities, who wish for the abolition of
nuclear weapons, are reflected in the discussions at theconference.
Mayor Matsui will attend the July meeting and makean appeal to the world’s policymakers to see a nuclear
weapons ban treaty as a realistic approach toward theabolition of nuclear weapons, and to go beyond differences in position and opinion to implement measures forthe establishment of such a treaty. Through meetings
with national governments and NGO representatives, wewould like to call for collaboration with Mayors for
Peace.
(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)3

body felt like it was being lifted up into the air, and thenI bumped into something. I do not remember anything
after that.

bombing. Doctors once told me that I would not live
past my 20th birthday, but in January 2016 I turned 85. I
am filled with happiness and gratitude, thinking once
again about the mystery of life. I think that life is truly amysterious treasure.
Although I would like to forget the atomic bombing,
every time I look in the mirror I see the scar from theheat wave that burned my throat. I hate the atomic
bomb. If the bomb had not have been dropped, if I had
not experienced the bombing, I am sure my life would
probably have been different.
If only the people on this Earth could live in peacewith no sadness — how happy they would be. We cannot let wars takes away irreplaceable lives. I can only
hope for true peace.

Sudden tragedy
When I came to my senses, I saw that what I had
bumped into was the large cement water tank for puttingout fires that was in front of the house. I was surroundedby smoke or dust, and could not see a thing. It was all sosudden I had no idea what was going on, and just squatted there in a daze.
When I gradually became more and more clearheaded, I started to feel a stinging, burning pain on my arms
and face. When I looked down I found that the skin on
my arms was burned bright red. I felt the same pain on
my face and chest. It was so painful that I dipped myarms into the water tank and put water on my face, but
the pain only got worse.
After a while, I heard my mother’s voice, calling mefrom far away. I shouted in a loud voice “Mum, I’mhere”, and guided by my voice, my mother made her
way to me through the dust. She looked surprised, saying “What happened!?” I leaned on my mother’s knee,
sobbing “Mum, it hurts, it hurts.”
My mother carried me to a nearby bomb shelter, andlaid me down on some bedding that she had brought fromour collapsed house. As I tried to put up with the pain it
became hard to breathe, and I started to lose consciousness.
After a while heavy rain started to fall and flowed into theshelter, and the mattress became completely wet.
The rain eventually cleared, and my mother broughtme outside, where there were people everywhere.
Nearby were people who had fled on trains on the Sanyo
Line, which had stopped, and also people who had fledfrom Nakahiro-cho. People kept coming into my home,which had half collapsed. Everyone had black faces,
their clothes were burnt, and their skin was exposed andin a terrible state. “Water, give me water”, “I’m in pain”,“Help me”, “It hurts” — the area was filled with voices
asking for help.

ProfileFujio Torikoshi
Born in 1931. Experienced the atomic bombing at the age of 14, as a
grade 3 student at Sotoku Junior High School in Hiroshima City. He
was in a field in front of his home 2km from the hypocenter, looking
up at the sky, when the bomb was dropped.
After the war, worked as an elementary school teacher. After retirement, involved in activities as an atomic bomb witness. Vice Presidentof Hiroshima wo Kataritsugu Kyoshi no Kai (Association of Teachers
Continuing to Speak about Hiroshima). Director of All Japan
Harmonica Federation.

Memoir of the A-Bombing:“Evacuation to relatives’ home, groupevacuation and then the Atomic
Bomb —a childhood torn by war”

by Mutsuhiko Segoshi
Atomic Bomb Witness
for this Foundation

In a semi-conscious state
That evening I was taken to a neighbor’s house, andput on a military truck together with other wounded people. We were taken to a hospital in Hatsukaichi. I remember that the hospital was teeming with woundedpeople, and that the room was filled with a sour odor.
Apparently I was treated by having the blisters on myface and arms cut off with scissors, and because there
was no medicine, a mixture of flour and vinegar wereapplied to my wounds which were then wound up in
bandages.
For a few days after I came home I was still unconscious. Even after I came to, I continued to have a highfever, and pus mixed with blood oozed from the bandages. Every day was horrible.
Eventually I got bits and pieces of information frompeople around me. I learned that Japan had lost the war,and that all my classmates who went to the building demolition work that day died. I pictured one by one thefaces of the friends that I had seen on August 4, and I
was filled with an indescribable sadness.

Evacuation to relatives’ home in the country
I enrolled in a national elementary school in Tokyoin 1941. Early morning on December 8 of that year, I
can still clearly remember how upset my father andmother were when they heard the news flash about theattack on Pearl Harbor. Things at school soon changed
completely. Every day the children at school were mobilized by orders and commands, and it could no longer becalled a place of elementary education. Sixth grade children dug long holes under the classroom and made air
raid shelters, and fourth grade students were made tocollect pebbles.
In July 1944, I was sent to Kanon Town in Hiroshima
City where my grandmother on my mother’s side lived,
as part of the evacuations to relatives’ homes that were
implemented as national government policy. Around thattime, Japan’s main cities had been subject to air raids by
the US military and were being reduced to ashes one byone. However, Hiroshima City had not suffered any formation bombardments, and adults were remarking how
strange that was.

Praying for true peace
More than 70 years have passed since the atomic
4The toughest thing was the hunger from the foodshortages. There were ‘substitute foods’ such as defatted
soybeans, bran paste (the husk of wheat), stalks of
pumpkins and sweet potatoes — we ate anything. For ayoung boy with a huge appetite being hungry was extremely tough.

raid shelter that had been dug as a long hole in the slopeof a mountain. We went inside and my mother took
Tetsuo off her back. He let out a small cry. “You’realive…” My courageous mother had tears rolling down
her cheeks.
In the midst of the ruins
In the middle of August, we returned to Kanon
Town, my mother saying that she thought our father
would be worried and would come from Tokyo. When
we arrived at the nearest station, Koi Station (nowNishi-Hiroshima Station), there was a strange smell. The
tenement house divided into five sections that we used
to live in was completely destroyed, but part of the closet in the house on the north side remained intact, so mymother and younger brothers slept there, and I slept in
the air-raid shelter behind the house.

Group evacuations (of students)
From April 1945, even in Hiroshima, which had notbeen bombed, participation in group evacuations became virtually mandatory. At the beginning of July, hundreds of students from Grade 3 to Grade 6 from national
elementary schools in Hiroshima City gathered in thesquare in front of Hiroshima Station at 10am and headed
for the Geibi Line platform. Guardians were instructed
to send off the train at the Atago railway crossing near
the station. Many of the children were nearly in tears to
be separated from the parents.

ReunionAt the end of August, my mother started saying pessimistic things about the whereabouts of my father:“Tokyo also had terrible air-raids, so I’m worried about
your father…” We did not have any electricity so after
the sun set the only thing to do was sleep, but if you go
to sleep too early you end up waking up at around three
in the morning. When I went out of the shelter it was
pitch black outside, a soundless world. I started the fire,
did the washing for my mother who could now not use
her wounded right hand at all, and warmed my cold
hands near the flames. I then heard the faint sound offootsteps approaching. “Is that Mutsuhiko? It’s you!” It
was the voice of my father, who we had separated fromone year before and who shook my hand at Tokyo
Station and said “Look after your mother.” He had arrived at Hiroshima Station at 10pm the day before, andhad been walking in the dark, charred ruins for over seven hours looking for us. I believe that God had repaid
my father’s love for his family by leading him to us.

August 6, that fateful time
Although I too had been part of a group evacuation,
I had returned to Hiroshima five days later because I
was ill. I clearly remember the morning of August 6,
which was one week after I had returned home.
There was a flash of light that came without warning, and for an instant, my mother, who was in front ofme, looked like a wax figure. Next the blast hit us with aloud roar. My mother was thrown, screaming, on top of
my 6-month old brother Tetsuo who was sleeping nearby. The floor fell through, pillars collapsed, and the roof
and tiles fell down. Cursing as I stood in the middle of
the rubble, my mother was standing in front of me, hairdisheveled and covered in blood, holding Tetsuo.
“Brother…” My younger brother Akio, 5 years old, who
had been sitting near the window talking to a neighborhood child, approached me, dragging his leg. “Bring thefirst aid kit. We’re going out!” Pulled by my mother’s
loud voice, we headed for the air-raid shelter in the field
behind the house.
My mother’s back was covered in so many wounds
it was painful to look at, and she had covered them witha towel that was held there by her underwear. The baseof her thumb on her right hand was constantly bleeding,and she had applied medicated paste to the wound andwrapped it in a bandage. The joint of my left leg was a
red open wound and I felt intense pain. I put cotton wool
on it myself and wrapped it in a towel. Tetsuo looked
like a black bundle, but I could hear him breathing faintly. I said “Baby Tetsuo is alive” and my mother nodded
silently.
At that time, large drops of rain began to fall. WhenI looked up at the sky I saw black clouds overhead, andit was as dark as if it were evening. When I wiped away
a raindrop from my arm, it was black, muddy water. It
was radioactive rain, but at the time I did not know what
fearful rain it was.

Passing on what happened
After the war, neither my mother nor my father
spoke about the atomic bombing at all. I too did notwant to think about it. However, in 2012 I learned about
the atomic bomb testimonial witnesses, and I decided to
dedicate the rest of my life to passing on my experienceby talking about it. From May 2014 I started activities at
the Peace Memorial Museum.
The Peace Ceremony in 2014 was held on a day ofheavy rain, for the first time in 43 years. To me, the rain
felt like the tears of those who lost their lives in thebombing, at the fact that we still have nuclear weapons
and war in our world. I pray for the fast realization of apeaceful world, with no nuclear weapons or war.
ProfileMutsuhiko Segoshi

In the aid-raid shelter
My mother said that we should go to our aunt’s placein Yoshiura town, so with all the other people who werefleeing we were packed into a freight train laid withstraw mixed with cow’s manure, and went to Yoshiura.
We went to the house of my aunt (my father’s older sister) but she was not there. With no other choice, westarted walking in the dim light, and came across an air-Born 1934 in Tokyo. Evacuated to Hiroshima to live with relatives,
experienced the bombing as a grade 5 student (aged 11) when sittingat the table at home, 2km from the hypocenter.
Formerly a teacher. From 2014 started A-bomb testimonial activities at
the Peace Memorial Museum.

5

gram where they could learn about peace and the truthof the atomic bombing from many different perspectives.

Support for Universities Offering theHiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study
CourseIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
From June 12 to 13, 9 students and 2 teachers from
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis camefor their first peace study field trip to Hiroshima.
As the participants werestudents inclasses on communication in
Japanese medical sites andcross-culturalcommunication, they lisGroup visiting Peace Memorial Park
tened to a lecture at theRadiation Effects Research Foundation and visited Funairi
Mutsumi-en, a nursing care home for atomic bomb survivors. At Funairi Mutsumi-en, the residents told thestudents about precious A-bomb experiences that they
had not even told their families, and the students looked
deeply moved.

The city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are working on theestablishment and spread of Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace
Study Courses at universities in Japan and overseas. The
aim of the course is to academically organize and structure the message of the A-bomb survivors as a common
asset for humankind, and communicate this to young
generations as an academic discipline with universal
value.
This Foundation provided support for the peace
study field trip in Hiroshima by Four American universities from May to December 2016.
Central Connecticut State University
From May 31 to June 2, 12 students and 2 teachers
participated in a peace study field trip to Hiroshima.
This time marked the tenth time that this university has
conducted a trip to Hiroshima. The group learned about
the truth of the bombing by touring the Peace Memorial
Park, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum andHiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic
B o m b Vi c t i m s ,and listening to
A-bomb testimonials, among other activities.
The memorialphotograph of themother of theteacher leading
the tour, Professor
The group listens to an explanation by a
Tomoda, was regpeace volunteer at Peace Memorial Park
istered in thePeace Memorial Hall, and by viewing the photographthe group felt a little closer to the atomic bombing andthe handing down of the memory of that experience.
The group held a discussion with students from
Hiroshima City University and Hiroshima University of
Economics and it became a good opportunity for meaningful exchange.

DePaul University
This Foundation provided support for the peace
study program of DePaul University (Chicago) from
December 2-6 last year. DePaul University has been
holding peace study tours in Hiroshima since 2005. Thistime, the 6th tour by the university, the Hiroshima Peace
Ambassador Ms. Yuki Miyamoto, associate professor at
DePaul, and 19 students came to Hiroshima.
Before the group came to Hiroshima, the HiroshimaNagasaki A-bomb Exhibition was held in Chicago(October 1-29, 2016), and the students were extremely
enthusiastic. In Hiroshima, they took tours of Peace
Memorial Park, Peace Memorial Museum and the Peace
Memorial Hall, and listened to an A-bomb testimony by
Ms. Emiko Okada. They also visited the Mayor of
Hiroshima, and then had a discussion with students from
Hiroshima University of Economics. After returning toAmerica, the group sent origami cranes with messages
written on them.
Through the peace study tour in Hiroshima, the group
was able to learn first-hand about the truth of the atomic
bombing. It was an extremely meaningful program.
(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

University of Alabama
From June 6 to 14, 8 students and 1 teacher came toHiroshima for a peace study field trip, the first by thisuniversity.
As the period of their stay was long, in addition totours of Peace Memorial Park, Peace Memorial Museum
and Peace Memorial Hall and listening to A-bomb testimonies, the group was also able to visit the Radiation
Effects Research Foundation, the Hiroshima Office ofUnited Nations
Institute for
Tr a i n i n g a n d
R e s e a r c h(UNITAR), andHiroshima City
University
Hiroshima Peace
Institute, in ameaningful proThe group listens to an atomic bomb testimony

Mayor of Hiroshima (front row, right) with students from DePaul
University

6

agreeing with the activities of Mayors for Peace and theabolition of nuclear weapons.
In his speech, Mr. Komizo spoke about how the nonpartisan Mayors for Peace has implemented activities
that respect the independence of each nation and region,
while at the same time maintaining the common objective of creating a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons. He also thanked the US Conference of Mayors for
adopting resolutions that support Mayors for Peace forso many years, and said that he would like to further develop the connection between the two organizations in
the future.
In addition to this, Mr. Komizo also met with the
Mayor of New York Mr. Bill De Blasio, the Executive
Director of the US Conference of Mayors Mr. Tom
Cochran, and US Conference of Mayors President Ms.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (Mayor of Baltimore).

Activities by Mayors for Peace in the
United States for the Abolition of
Nuclear Weapons
The nuclear policy of one of the nuclear power, theUnited States, is still unclear, and under these circumstances it has become even more important to pursue activities that heighten public opinion in the United States
for the abolition of nuclear weapons. In this issue, we
provide information on Mayors for Peace activities in
the United States aiming for the abolition of nuclear
weapons.
Visit to United States by Mayors for Peace
Secretary-General
In June last year, Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, theSecretary-General of Mayors for Peace (and Chairpersonof this Foundation), visited the United States with theaim of strengthening connections with member cities in
the US. His main activities are described below.

Meeting with think tank members
Mr. Komizo met with Dr. Barry Blechman, Cofounder of the Stimson Center, and Mr. Brian Finlay, thePresident and CEO of the institution. Dr. Blechman stated that due to heightened activity in civic society the initiatives by politicians toward nuclear weapons willchange, and therefore the Mayors for Peace activities arevery meaningful. Dr. Blechman also spoke about original photographs that he has of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
immediately before and immediately after the atomic
bombing, which he will send to the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum.

Request to Des Moines Mayor to become aLead City
Mr. Komizo met with the Mayor of Des Moines,
Iowa, Mr. T. M. Franklin Cownie. Mr. Komizo communicated his view that as the momentum towards nuclear
disarmament is building with US President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, now more than ever close cooperation isneeded. He said now is the right time for member cities,
especially in the US, to build a strong foundation for
their further independent activities to promote peace andnuclear disarmament, and requested that the city of Des
Moines become a Lead City for Mayors for Peace in the
US. Mr. Komizo also presented Mayor Cownie with paper cranes that had been dedicated to the Children’s Peace
Monument in the
Pea ce Me m o r ia l
Park, and explainedthe ‘desire forpeace’ that was incorporated in thepaper cranes.
Mayor Cownie
immediately signed
the document to accept the position asa Lead City andsaid that he would
start straight away
on examining future regional activi- Mr. Komizo presenting paper cranes tothe Mayor of Des Moines
ties.

Meeting with members of the US government
Mr. Komizo met with Ms. Rose Gottemoeller, Under
Secretary of State for Arms Control and International
Security for the US State Department. Mr. Komizo said
that with President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, there is
growing momentum for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and therefore now is the time he decided to make avisit to the US to enhance initiatives using the Mayors
for Peace framework. He also explained that the US
Conference of Mayors had adopted a resolution of support for Mayors for Peace.
There were three major accomplishments achieved
through this trip.
The first was that the Mayor of Des Moines accepted
the position of Lead City of Mayors for Peace in the US.
We hope that Des Moines will effectively work as a
Lead City, creating a structure facilitating US member
cities to implement independent activities and lobby political centers in the US government.
The second accomplishment was participating in the
US Conference of Mayors as representative of Mayors
for Peace. We will continue to monitor this conference,
participate and strengthen connections.
The third accomplishment was the presentation of athousand paper cranes from Hiroshima to the Presidentof the US Conference of Mayors. When President
Obama visited Hiroshima in May 2016, he handed paper
cranes he folded himself wishing for peace to an elementary school student and a junior high school student
who were there to welcome him, one apiece. The two
students’ schools then folded one thousand paper cranes
in return with their wish for Japan and the US to work
together for a world without nuclear weapons. The pre-Attendance at the Annual Meeting of the US
Conference of Mayors
Mr. Komizo attended the 84th Annual Meeting of the
US Conference of Mayors held in the city ofIndianapolis, Indiana, and made a speech at the Standing
Committee on International Affairs.
The US Conference of Mayors is a non-partisan organization whose members are cities in the US withpopulations of over 30,000 people. For eleven consecutive years, the Conference has adopted a resolution
7

sentation of the one thousand paper cranes was meaningful as the President of the US Conference of Mayors
for Peace was very pleased to receive cranes with thestudents’ sincere wish for peace.
During the trip this time, two executive advisersfrom this Foundation living in the US were involved
through the preparation stages, and accompanied Mr.
Komizo on his visit to each city. Executive advisers
were very effective in their daily activities, and as a result the trip proceeded smoothly and was extremely productive.

Mayors for Peace Secretariat Accepts
Interns from Member Cities
Since FY2014, Mayors for Peace has been inviting young
staff members from overseas member cities to Hiroshima
as interns, where they are involved in work at the secretariat. Last fiscal year, we accepted seven interns fromseven cities.
The interns experienced various different types ofwork in the secretariat, including updating information
about member cities in their own country, surveying cities in their country that are not yet members and requesting that they become members, creating the certification and procedures for new member cities, and more.
On the other hand, the interns also provided the secretariat staff with information on peace-related activities intheir own member cities, and thus helped to promotemutual understanding and stronger links.
The interns also visited the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum, Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima
National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb
Victims and the Radiation Effects Research Foundation,
listened to A-bomb testimonies, and participated in discussions with high school students. In this way, they
could deepen their understanding of the actual damage
from the atomic bombing, and share Hiroshima’s wish
for peace.

Acceptance of interns from Des Moines
Mayors for Peace invites young staff members frommember cities to come to Hiroshima as interns. The aimof this initiative is to give the interns a deeper understanding of the reality of the damage from the atomic
bombing and to share the desire for peace, so that when
the interns return to their own countries they can workon furthering activities in the respective cities for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and we can strengthen the
network between member cities.
As part of this initiative, Hiroshima City accepted astaff member from Des Moines, Iowa, as an intern foraround two weeks in January of this year.
The intern was involved in the work of the Mayors
for Peace secretariat, such as conducting surveys of US
cities that are not yet members of Mayors for Peace.
The intern visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Museum, Peace Memorial Park, the Hiroshima National
Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims andthe Hiroshima Laboratory of the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation, listened to an A-bomb survivor’s
testimony and a presentation by an A-bomb Legacy
Successor, participated in presentations of A-bomb testimonies, and also made a presentation to students at
Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School
about Des Moines’ peace activities.
Des Moines Mayor participates in US
Conference of Mayors Winter Annual Meeting

Intern listening to an explanation of the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb
Victims by a peace volunteer

In January of this year, the 85 th Winter Annual
Meeting of the US Conference of Mayors was held in
Washington DC, and Mayor Cownie of Des Moines,
Iowa, which is a Mayors for Peace Lead City in the US,
attended. Mayor Cownie made a speech at the Standing
Committee on International Affairs, where he spoke
about Mayors for Peace activities and also called fornew membership and cooperation. His call for new
members was positively received, and the mayors of twocities signed up for membership to Mayors for Peace on
the spot.
As a follow-up to the meeting, Des Moines City has
sent a membership request letter to the cities that are
members of the US Conference of Mayors. Working
closely with Des Moines and about 200 member cities
in the US, the Mayors for Peace secretariat intends to revitalize activities in the US to build momentum for nuclear disarmament in the country.
(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

After they return to their countries, each intern is involved in activities to abolish nuclear weapons based onwhat they learned in Hiroshima, such as giving lecturesand providing peace education to young people. Throughthis internship program, the secretariat hopes that the wishof Hiroshima to achieve a peaceful world free of nuclear
weapons will be spread to the rest of the world.
Number Period
Name of city and country ofpeopleHanover, Germany1

May 26 – June 8, 2016

Volgograd, Russia

1June 16 – 29, 2016

Wellington, New Zealand

1

July 4 – 15, 2016

Santos, Brazil

1

Nov 28 – Dec 9, 2016

Des Moines, America1

Jan 11 – 23, 2017

Muntinlupa, the Philippines1

Jan 26 – Feb 8, 2017

Malakoff, France

1

Feb 13 – 24, 2017

(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)
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Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb
Exhibition in Chicago

Pic tures of the Atomic Bombing
Complete-High school students depict the atomic bombingin pictures-

The 2016 Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-bomb Exhibition washeld from October 1-29 at the Japanese Culture Center in
Chicago, following on from last year where it was also
held in the United States, a nuclear super-power.
At the venue were thirty panels explaining the realityof the damage of the bombing of Hiroshima andNagasaki. There were also 17 artifacts on display, including objects that remained after the blast, such as the burnt
water bottle of a junior high school student who had beenworking as a mobilized student and perished in the bombing, and the origami cranes made by Sadako Sasaki.
There was also a section where visitors could make theirown origami cranes.
The opening ceremony was held on October 1. Afterspeeches by Mr. Kenji Shiga, the Director of theHiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and Ms. Keiko
Yanai, Principal Consular Officer at the Consulate ofJapan in Chicago, there was a tape-cutting ceremony by
Mr. Shiga, Ms. Yanai and others.

Since 2007, this Foundation has worked with students from Hiroshima Municipal Motomachi SeniorHigh School’s Comprehensive Creative Expression
Course to produce Pictures of the Atomic Bombing.
The students work
together with thisF o u n d a t i o n ’s A bomb witnesses to
depict scenes fromthe time of thebombing that remainin the memories of
the witnesses.
From 2015, 12
witnesses workedon the pictures with30 students, graduates and teachers
divided into 12groups, and as of “Mother carrying her dead child on herback”
July 2016 they had by Kana Tsumura (3rd year student,
completed 35 pic- Motomachi High School Comprehensive
Creative Expression Course) and Hirokotures.
Kishida (A-bomb witness)
At the completion exhibition held in the Motomachi High School
Exhibition Gallery on July 4, 12 A-bomb witnesses attended, together with the students who created the paintings, other students from the Creative Expression
Course, and members of this Foundation and Motomachi
High School.
The student who produced a picture of a mother carrying her dead child on her back said “I wanted to depict
a memory that doesn’t disappear even after 70 years. It
was tough drawing the expression on the dead child’sface.” Another student who drew a huge blaze that had
resulted from a fireball of nuclear explosion said “I had
never seen a fireball so it was hard to create an image ofwhat it was like. I did some research at the Peace
Memorial Museum.” They spoke about the difficulty oftrying to depict theexperiences of the
A-bomb witnesses intheir pictures.
The Pictures of theAtomic Bombing preserve the devastationof Hiroshima after thebombing in pictures.
They are being used toprovide people with adeeper understandingof the A-bomb experience, and are being
made use of to com“Huge blaze of nuclear explosion
municate the reality ofviewed from the Eastern Drill Ground”
by Nanako Ishida (2nd year student,
the damage of theMotomachi High School Comprehensive
bombing to the next
Creative Expression Course) and Sadao
Yamamoto (A-bomb witness)
generation, in talks

Visitors making origami cranes at the A-bomb exhibition venue

Following the opening ceremony, many visitors gazedat the A-bomb artifacts and photo panels. One visitor,
looking directly at objects that one would not normally beable to view, seemed to deeply feel the horror of the atomic bombing, saying “Looking at the articles remaining reminded me of the inhumanity of the atomic bombing.”
At the closing ceremony on October 29, Mr. Takashi
Teramoto, who is a hibakusha, gave an A-bomb testimony effectively using slides made up of maps, pictures andother materials. This was followed by a recital of A-bomb
testimonies by Ms. Ikuko Katsura and Ms. Mayumi
Yamamoto, who are volunteers at the Hiroshima National
Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims.
Visitors listened intently to the testimonies and recitals. After they ended, a visitor commented: “Listening to
the testimonies made me feel that it is important to work
towards preserving peace in the future.”
Held in the city of Chicago, which has a connection
with former US President Obama, the exhibition communicated what happened on that day under the mushroom
cloud.
(Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)

9

given by hibakusha, lectures to pass on the A-bomb experience by A-bomb Legacy Successors (A-bomb experience memory-keepers), and other activities.
(Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)and other local specialties as prizes, an exhibition introducing Montreal and Canada, display and sales of specialty products, and an explanation of Cirque de Soleil’sshow TOTEM.
There were around 400 visitors to the event, and they
deepened their understanding of Montreal and Canada
while enjoying food and artistic culture.

S i s t e r a n d Fr i e n d s h i p C i t y D a yCommemorative Events

Volgograd Day
On September 11, 2016, a commemorative event for
Volgograd Day was held in Hiroshima International
House. The event was organized by the 2016 Volgograd
Day Executive Committee.
Visitors who completed registration viewed the panel display section introducing the Russian city
Volgograd, which also had displays of traditional
Russian crafts, photographs of Volgograd scenery anddisplays of commemorative gifts. High school and university students from Hiroshima who visited Volgograd
in August to attend the International Youth Conference
for the Peace in the Future provided explanations of theexchange activities they were involved in.
Next, at the food and culture experience section, visitors listened to a live piano performance by Kaduki
Tanaka while enjoying the classic dish of borsch, black
bread and other Russian food, as well as Georgian wine.
At the ceremony in the hall, there were speeches by
the head of the Executive Committee and the Mayor of
Hiroshima, and messages from the Mayor of Volgograd
and the Consul General from the Russian Consulate
General in Osaka were read out respectively by theHiroshima Messengers Ekaterina Simakina and Chiharu
Kando.
The two Messengers also organized a presentat i o n , where
they used photos that weretaken when
they went toVolgograd inJuly to provide
an introduction
to Volgograd’s
streetscape,tourism, cuisine, famous
people andmore. They also held a quizand simple
Russian lanby Hiroshima Choir (above) and aguage class. Singing
violin and dance performance by the 2 HiroT h e y e n d e d shima Messengers (below)
their presentation with Ekaterina playing the violin and Ms. Kando
performing a Russian dance, and the venue was filledwith loud applause.
Next was a Russian music concert. The Hiroshima
Choir performed various different Russian songs. There
was a fun lottery draw with Russian goods as prizes, andafter the quiz the Hiroshima Choir appeared once again
to lead lively singing with the audience.
There were about 240 visitors on the day and it
helped to strengthen ties of exchange between the sistercities.

～Introducing Sister and Friendship Cities to
Hiroshima Citizens～

Hiroshima City has established Sister and Friendship
City Days for each of the six overseas sister and friendship cities and holds commemorative events. The aim of
the events is to have Hiroshima citizens feel a greater affinity with these cities, and develop a deeper understanding of the importance of having friendly relations. From
2003, Hiroshima City has consigned the organization ofthese events to this Foundation. The MCs for the eventswere the Hiroshima Messengers selected through a public selection process.
Montreal Day
On July 10, 2016, a commemorative event forMontreal Day was held in the multi-space area on the 6th
floor of the department store Fukuya in front ofHiroshima Station. The event was organized by the 2016
Montreal Day Executive Committee.
The event started with tasting of maple water andoriginal maple rusks from Hiroshima City Social
Welfare Corporation Hiroshima Minaga-en.
At the commemorative ceremony, there were speeches from the organizers and a video message from the
Mayor of Montreal, as well as speeches from guests — a
representative of the Quebec Province Office in Japanand the First Secretary of the Embassy of Canada inJapan.
Next, the Hiroshima Messengers Jean-Bernard
Gariepy and Miho Kawamoto held a quiz on Montreal
City where visitors could participate, and a present wasawarded to the winner.
There was a humorous commemorative performanceby the Canadian street performer Jeremy Eaton, which
involved the whole audience, and the venue was filledwith laughter and applause.

Commemorative performance by Jeremy Eaton

There was also a fun lottery draw with maple syrup
10Chongqing Day
On October 23 last year, a commemorative event for
Chongqing Day was held at JMS Aster Plaza. The event
was organized by the 2016 Chongqing Day Executive
Committee.
Visitors to the event first had a taste of mooncake ormahua (Chinese sweets) together with oolong tea. At thevenue there were displays of items given to Hiroshima
City by Chongqing City in exchange activities, such as
chrysanthemums, collages made from Japanese washi
paper and origami cranes. There were also sections
where visitors could try speaking Chinese, making
washi paper collages and making Chinese tea themselves, and visitors enjoyed the experience of Chinese
culture.
At the opening ceremony there were speeches by thechairperson of the executive committee and the Mayorof Hiroshima, and a message from the Mayor of
Chongqing was read out.
This was followed by a presentation by theHiroshima Messengers Ye Tian and Jing Chen, whogave a clear explanation of Chongqing City’s history,
cityscape and culture illustrated with photos. They also
led a quiz on Chongqing and a mini-lesson on the
Chinese language.
On the commemorative stage, there was a tai chi
performance by the members of the Hiroshima Branchof the Japan-China Friendship Association, and visitors
were able to experience together the slow, gracefulmoves of tai chi. This was followed by a Chinese folk
dance performance by Ruri Miura, and an erhu
(2-stringed instrument played with a bow) performanceby Rongchun Zhao, and visitors enjoyed the dancing inbrightly-colored costumes and the tones of the erhu.

Colorful hula dance performancecoffee and fruit juice.
The event opened with the classic hula dance Kahiko,which was followed by speeches by the chairperson of
the executive committee, the Deputy Mayor of
Hiroshima, and a video message from the Mayor of
Honolulu.
Next was a presentation by the Hiroshima
Messengers Tomonori Komatsu and Syoko Inoue. They
showed photos on a big screen at the venue to explainhigh school student exchange activities between
Hiroshima and Honolulu, as well as talking about theorigami cranes made by Sadako Sasaki that were donated to Pearl Harbor.
This was followed by a performance by a Hawaiian
band and hula dancers. The audience was greatly excited by the authentic performance and colorful hula dancing, and the venue was filled with a tropical Hawaiianmood.
The event ended with a performance of the song
‘Hawaii Aloha’ — the audience all joined in the singing
and experienced the Hawaiian atmosphere.
At the venue were Hawaiian goods on display andfor sale, as well as a section where visitors could maketheir own ribbon leis. Around 500 visitors had a goodtime as they gained a greater understanding of Honolulu.
(International Relations & Cooperation Division)

International Exchange
and Cooperation Day 2016
This event was held at International Conference Center
Hiroshima, the green strip on Peace Boulevard and othervenues on November 20, 2016, marking the 17th timethe event has been held.
Sixty-nine civic organizations and companies thatare involved in international exchange and cooperation
activities in Hiroshima City and the surrounding areas
held 37 diverse events on intercultural understanding,the global environment, multicultural coexistence andJapanese cultural experiences, and a total of around
9,500 people participated in the various events.
This became a day for both non-Japanese andJapanese participants to come into contact with culturesfrom around the world (Organizers: this Foundation.
Joint organizers: Japan International Cooperation
Agency Chugoku International Center, Hiroshima
International Center, the City of Hiroshima).

Chinese folk dance performed by Ruri Miura

After the event there was a lottery draw for commemorative gifts provided by Chongqing City.
There were around 190 visitors to the event, and by
experiencing various elements of Chinese culture they
enjoyed themselves as they deepened their understanding of Chongqing City and China.
Honolulu Day
On November 5 last year, a commemorative eventfor Honolulu Day was held at the underground event
space at the south exit of Hiroshima Station. This event
was organized by the 2016 Honolulu Day Executive
Committee.
Visitors to the event were first welcomed by flavored11

Talk show: “Becoming the Indy Jones of theWorld of Science”
The guest speaker Professor Takeshi Naganuma, of
the Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biosphere
Science, gave a full 2-hour talk on “Becoming the Indy
Jones of the World of Science”. Professor Naganuma
travels the world conducting research on living creaturesin places that are hard to survive in, called outlying regions. “Hard to survive” has two meanings: “hard to getto” and “hard to live in”. Among the living creatures living in such extreme environments is a mysterious creature known as the ‘tube worm’, which is receiving attention in cancer prevention research. The audience wascaptivated by the photos shown on the screen. Professor
Naganuma’s talk included descriptions of various different outlying regions, from the desserts of Chile andTunisia and the mountaintop glaciers of Uganda, tohigh-altitude caves in Venezuela, sea-floor volcanoes,
the Artic, Antarctica, and then moving away from Earth,
he talked about Mars and Europa, the second of Jupiter’s
orbiting moons.

World cuisine and craft bazaar
At the green strip on Peace Boulevard on the south
side of the International Conference Center, there was asection called Hiroshima International Village World
Food Stalls, where nineteen organizations sold various
foods from all over the world at food stalls. Thirteen organizations participated in the International Cooperation
Bazaar, where they sold crafts and the like from different countries.

Presentations on international exchange andcooperation activities
In the section for activities by civic organizations,
there were booths on the activities of sixteen organizations, explaining the international exchange and cooperation activities of each of the respective organizations.
There were also booths set up for public entities, civicorganizations, NGOs, university students and companies. Participants enjoyed looking at displays of photos,
trying on the local dress of different regions, and participating in quizzes. There were also presentations and report sessions on international exchange and cooperation
activities by young people and university students.

International cooperation bazaar

There was also a quiz rally, where participants could
win a present by answering the quiz questions at each of
the different event venues, the ‘Earth Stage’, where visitors young and old could enjoy cross-cultural experiences, a section where participants could learn about
Hiroshima City’s sister cities and friendship cities while
making crafts, an outdoor stage with performances ofdances from all over the world, a free consultation section for foreigners about visa matters, a display section
introducing Japanese language schools in Hiroshima
City, a section supporting children in developing nations
by donating coins from all over the world, and others.
Each section was bustling with people, and participants
developed greater knowledge of international exchange
and cooperation.
Many citizens and international students participatedin this event as volunteer staff, and had a great time together.
(International Relations & Cooperation Division)

Introduction and experience of foreign cultures
and Japanese culture
In the area for experiencing foreign cultures, there
were sections set up where participants could try making
paper flowers from England, paper collages from China
and Chinese knotting, and in the traditional Japaneseculture section, visitors could try wearing a kimono, tea
ceremony, ikebana flower arrangement, Japanese calligraphy and playing the koto (aJapanesestringed instrument).
Both foreign
and Japaneseparticipants
directly experienced thewonderfulcultures ofdifferentInternational students from Asia trying Japanesecalligraphy
countries.

Information

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version) on the Internet.
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HIROSHIMA PEACE CULTURE FOUNDATION
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730-0811, JAPAN
Phone. 81-82-241-5246
E-mail: p-soumu@pcf.city.hiroshima.jp〔URL〕http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpcf/

HIROSHIMA PEACE CULTURE FOUNDATIONPEACE CULTURE
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