HIROSHIMA PEACE CULTURE FOUNDATIONPEACE CULTURE
Vol. 1 No.69

May 2013 (semiannual)

A Last Request as Chairman
America and Africa. This group generated an energetic discussion focused on helping the courageous nations of the “newmovement” to proceed as quickly as possible toward our common goal: an international treaty that clearly de-legitimizes
and bans the production, possession and use of nuclear weapons.
The reason 500 campaigners gathered in cold, distant andextremely expensive Oslo is the “new movement.” This movement emerged in Vienna last May at the first preparatory committee meeting for the 2015 NPT Review Conference. There,
Switzerland read a revolutionary statement endorsed by 16
countries. That statement declared that nuclear weapons are
too dangerous, that is, they are terrible weapons the use ofwhich would have enormous, horribly destructive consequences for all humanity.
So, you might be asking, “What’s revolutionary about
that? Here in Hiroshima we’ve been saying this for 68 years.”
From Hiroshima’s point of view, the content of the statement
is not revolutionary. What is revolutionary is that the non-nuclear-weapon states, that is, countries with no nuclear weapons, are taking control of the nuclear disarmament process.
At a disarmament conference in Shizuoka at the end ofJanuary, Switzerland said openly from the stage that three nuclear weapon states had scolded it for the statement it presented in Vienna. In effect, Switzerland was telling the world thatthe nuclear-weapon states don’t like the new movement, but it
will continue anyway. This is revolutionary.
The Swiss statement was presented again in the UN
General Assembly in New York in October. That time, the revolution was endorsed by 35 countries. Then came the conference in Oslo. ICAN activists were quite nervous about thisby Steven Leeper

Former Chairmanof this Foundation

I am grateful for this opportunity to write one last article for
Peace Culture, and I am delighted that I can be the bearer ofgood news.
In early March, I spent a week in Oslo, Norway. The first twodays were spent with Aaron Tovish, Jackie Cabasso, and Pol
D’Huyvetter. These three Peace Culture Foundation Executive
Advisors are the people who, more than anyone else except
former Mayor Akiba, have built Mayors for Peace into thelarge, effective global network it is today. They will all continue as employees of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation,and they will be doing their best to advise and build Mayors
for Peace. I will not say anything here about our discussions
because we covered matters that will be deliberated and decided at the Mayors for Peace General Conference to be held here
in Hiroshima August 3 to 6 this year. Stay tuned.
After our internal meetings, the four of us attended the ICAN
conference (March 2 and 3). The organizers of this conference
were hoping to draw 400 participants. They got over 500 campaigners of all ages from all over the world, including Latin

ICAN Civil Society Forum

Young campaigners from all over the world1

conference. What if no one showed up? What if it drew only
the same 35 countries that signed the statement in New York?
A failure like that could mean death to the new movement.
Fortunately, 132 countries registered for the conference
and 127 actually sent delegations. The movement is growing!
In fact, the best outcome of the Oslo conference was the announcement by Mexico that it will hold another conference onhumanitarian consequences sometime this year. And after
Mexico, the next one will be somewhere in Africa.

but when a strong grassroots campaign made it clear that theJapanese people were overwhelmingly in favor of the ban, theJapanese government signed in December 1998.
So this is my last request of you, the readers of Peace Culture.
Between now and 2015 you will be hearing more and more
about the “new movement” or “the ban.” As this campaign
emerges, please act. Write to Mayor Matsui, Governor Yuzaki,
your local City Councilman or woman, your Diet representative, Foreign Minister Kishida, and Prime Minister Abe. Letthem know that you want them to support the new movement,
the ban, the start of negotiations and a nuclear-weapon-freeworld.
This campaign is important for the world and for Japan. If
Japan wholeheartedly supports the new movement, it will succeed quickly. If Japan refuses to support the new movement,
the movement will be greatly weakened, and Japan will beconsidered a traitor to the cause of abolition.
The stated reason for the new movement is the “catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.” If
the country that knows the most about these humanitarian consequences, the country of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, andFukushima, fails to support this movement, no one will evertrust Japan again when it comes to disarmament. Japan will
have chosen the nuclear umbrella over a nuclear-weapon-freeworld, and many will immediately assume that Japan is planning to obtain nuclear weapons. Japan could lose a lot offriends over this, and in the long run, those friends will be
more important than the nuclear industry.
The Japanese government MUST support the new abolitionist movement, and your voices will be crucial. The only
force that can cause the Japanese government to support a treaty opposed by the US and the nuclear industry is a determined
demand from the overwhelming majority of the Japanese people. If you truly want to see a world without nuclear weapons,
the time has come to lift your voices and tell your government
to side with the revolution, not the nuclear status quo.

The statement that came out of the Oslo Conference, like thestatements in Vienna and New York, basically said that nuclear
weapons are too destructive and dangerous and we shouldmake them illegal. Some activists complained about the content. “We’ve known this since Hiroshima, and now we’re supposed to get excited about ‘humanitarian consequences?’”True, the words are not exciting, but the meaning is. I’m excited because a majority of countries are carefully and politely
saying to the countries that have nuclear weapons or wantthem or are hiding under nuclear umbrellas, “Stop threateningus. Don’t talk to us about deterrence. Don’t talk to us about
your national interests or national security. You have no rightunder any circumstances whatsoever to destroy human civilization on this planet. You have been promising for over 40
years to get rid of your nuclear weapons, and we’re tired of
waiting. So to help you along, we will make it perfectly clearthat those weapons are illegal and immoral, and we want themgone. Now, gentlemen, start your negotiations!”
This revolutionary new movement is being boycotted andactively opposed by the nuclear-weapon states, and yet, it’s
growing and getting stronger. Eventually, it will lead to a treaty banning nuclear weapons. And when that treaty is written
and offered publicly for signature, the campaign for a nuclearweapon-free world will finally shift into high gear. I can’t
wait!
This is the good news. The bad news is that the Japanese government is on the wrong side of the revolution. Rather thanwholeheartedly supporting the new movement, Japan seems to
be defending the nuclear-weapon states. In Oslo, the Japanese
representative called for a “gradual, realistic approach.” By“realistic” he meant an approach that would be supported by
the nuclear-weapon states. Japan’s Foreign Ministry has said
that the new movement is a distraction from the step-by-step
approach that has been working so well. But this step-by-step
approach has left us with 19,000 nuclear weapons and a worldin which those weapons are spreading and increasingly likely
to be used. They have also said that a nuclear weapons banthat does not involve the nuclear-weapon states is meaningless. If that’s true, why doesn’t Japan just support the new
movement to maintain its reputation as a country that seeks anuclear-weapon-free world? If the new movement is meaningless, why not go along? The fact is, Japan and the nuclearweapon states oppose the movement because they know it isprofoundly meaningful. They are afraid of it.
At this point, the Japanese government has doubts about
the new movement probably because they want to avoid conflict with the US. However, they did the same thing with theanti-personnel landmine ban presented in 1997 that now has
162 signatory states. Japan opposed the landmine ban at first,

In closing, I thank you for six years of friendship. I have nowords to adequately express my gratitude for your interest,
your letters of support, your invitations to speak in your area,and your ongoing concern for the Hiroshima, the Peace
Culture Foundation, and a nuclear-weapon-free peace. I lookforward to seeing you and working with you again in my new
capacity as professor at Hiroshima Jogakuin University. Seeyou in September.
(Contributed March 2013)

ProﬁleSteven Leeper
Born in the U.S. in 1947; obtained a Master’s Degree in clinical psychology from West Georgia University in the U.S.
Worked as English instructor at Hiroshima YMCA. CoPresident of Transnet Ltd., a consulting, translation and interpretation business, Overseas Liaison Advisor for Moltem
Corporation, U.S. Representative for Mayors for Peace, andExpert Advisor for this Foundation. Took Office as chairmanof this Foundation on April 23, 2007 - March 31, 2013.
2

mer heat was at its peak, but construction proceeded smoothly
and the first house was complete.
Activities continue
The construction of the Houses for Hiroshima continued, and ahouse was built at the foot of Ebasarayama every year from1950 to 1952. A meeting place for the people in the community (the current Schmoe House) was also built.
A total of 15 buildings (21 homes) were constructed underthe Houses for Hiroshima plan. Large numbers of people ofdifferent countries and races cooperated to build the houses, atthe same time nurturing a compassion for others, somethingthat had been lost during the war.

Opening of Schmoe House
Schmoe House, an exhibition facility affiliated with theHiroshima Peace Memorial Museum located in Eba, Naka-ku,
was opened on November 1, 2012. The name Schmoe House
comes from the American, Floyd Schmoe. Shocked by thesight of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the dropping of thebombs, he started a campaign to build houses for those in
Hiroshima who had lost their homes.
Since its construction as a meeting place in 1951, Schmoe
House had been used as a base for community activities. With
the construction of the Hiroshima South Road the role of thehouse as a community center came to an end. However, in2012 the house was relocated from a location approximately
40 meters south-east to its current location and preserved
there. It was thus reborn as a display facility to communicate
the support received by Hiroshima after the bombing frompeople all over the world. The displays include Mr. Schmoe’s“Houses for Hiroshima” construction activities, as well as
medications offered immediately after the bombing, aid forchildren who had lost their families, and various other formsof support from overseas. The exhibition tells us about the
goodwill offered by those from other countries as well as theunderlying feelings of those who provided support.

Various forms of support offered to Hiroshima

Aid activities immediately after the bombing
Mr. Marcel Juneau, chief representative to Japan of the Red
Cross International Committee, negotiated with GHQ to obtainlarge amounts of medication as aid for Hiroshima. At the beginning of September, he himself came to Hiroshima together
with the medication, and was involved in observation andtreatment at aid stations in the city.
Spiritual Adoption program
The Spiritual Adoption program organized private “adoptions”
between people overseas and children in Hiroshima who had
lost their family, where those overseas would send money tolook after their “adopted” child.
The article written by Norman Cousins in the Saturday
Review of Literature, for which he was a main writer, caused astir, and applications for adoptions came in from people allover America. In 1950 the first allotment of adoption funds,$2000 (approximately 720,000 yen at the time) arrived in
Hiroshima.
After this, the US arm of the Hiroshima Peace Center,
which promoted world peace and welfare projects in
Hiroshima, became the contact point for the collection of donations.
Travel to America for treatment
Keloids, or swelling up of burn scars, caused not only physicalpain but also great emotional suffering. Treatment for womenwith keloids spread from Japan to overseas, and in 1955 women traveled to America to receive treatment.
Peace Pilgrimage and World Friendship Center
Ms. Barbara Reynolds organized the Peace Pilgrimage, theaim of which was to have atomic bomb survivors speak about
their experiences and call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Gatherings and talks were held in various cities throughout theUnited Stated and Europe. Further, to expand mutual understanding and friendship and more broadly communicate theactual damage from the atomic bomb to those overseas, theWorld Friendship Center was established in 1965. Even today,
the Center offers accommodation for peace activists visiting
Hiroshima from overseas, and organizes activities to support
the atomic bomb survivors.
A place for cross-generational communication
On October 31, 2012, the day before the opening, the opening
ceremony was held, attended by the Mayor of Hiroshima, thehead of the Eba Federation of Neighborhood Associations,
Floyd Schmoe’s second son Mr. Wilfred P. Schmoe, and others.
In his commemorative speech, Mr. Wilfred P. Schmoe said
“If my father were here, I’m sure he would have said that it is
the greatest honor that you have retained Schmoe House.
That’s because Schmoe House will remain in this location for
future generations”.
The speech reaffirmed that Schmoe House was a symbolof hope for Floyd Schmoe.
We hope that many people visit Schmoe House, and understand that it is the wishes of each individual that become
the force to build a peaceful world.

Schmoe House, relocated and opened as an exhibition facility

On August 6, 1945, the city was razed to the ground by theatomic bomb. Food, clothing, and other daily commodities
were in short supply, there was a lack of housing, and thepeople of Hiroshima were forced into a life of hardship.
People also suffered from wounds caused by the bombing
as well as the sorrow of losing family and friends, leading
to feelings of loneliness and despair.
In the midst of such circumstances after the bombing,the people of Hiroshima worked little by little to return totheir normal lives. In addition, much support was provided
not only from other areas in Japan but also overseas, andsuch support became a major source of strength for thepeople, both practically and emotionally.

Houses for Hiroshima

The project is kicked off
Mr. Floyd Schmoe lived in Seattle in the United States andtaught forestry studies at university. He named the plan “Housesfor Hiroshima”, and gathered funds through donations to build
the houses. In July 1949, Mr. Schmoe came to Hiroshima together with Mr. Emery Andrews and two others, carrying withthem glass, nails and other construction materials.
Housing in Minami-machi
Mr. Schmoe and his workmates constructed two wooden onestory double-eave row houses in Minami-machi. They employed one master builder, and with help from Japanese volunteers, started building the “Houses for Hiroshima”. The sum-

(Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Curatorial Division)
3

ticipated in the program. After arriving in Hiroshima on the
28th, they attended a welcome reception and met with local
participants including atomic bomb witnesses.
On the following day, the group viewed the A-bomb
Dome and the Children’s Peace Monument, and presented
flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. They also
visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum andHiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic
Bomb Victims. After listening to an explanation of the
Mayors for Peace initiative by this Foundation’s
Chairperson, Steven Leeper, they watched the film
“Hiroshima A Mother’s Prayer”, and listened to the atomic
bomb testimony of Mr. Keijiro Matsushima, thus gaining abetter understanding of the actual damage caused by thebomb.
Comments from participants: “The program in
Hiroshima was an extremely memorable experience. I now
understand the devastating damage caused by nuclear
weapons”, “The visit to Hiroshima was memorable not only in terms of my work but also in terms of my own life”, “I
renewed my resolve to do everything I can to create aworld free of nuclear weapons”.

Event Commemorating International Day of
Peace

Participants observing a moment of silence in front of the Cenotaph

The United Nations has designated September 21 every year
as International Day of Peace, and as a global day of ceasefire
and non-violence, has called for the suspension of hostile activities on this day. On International Day of Peace last year,
this Foundation held a commemorative event. At midday, amoment’s of silence was observed at the Cenotaph for the
A-bomb Victims to pray for the abolition of nuclear weapons
and perpetual world peace, at the same time raising a Mayors
for Peace banner that read “Total Abolition of Nuclear
Weapons by 2020”.
Thanks to calls by Mayors for Peace, similar commemorative events were held in other member cities.

(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

Visit to Museum by Seven Youth Educatorsfrom German Museums
Seven employees of German museums responsible for youth
education projects visited the Peace Memorial Museum on
November 13, 2012. The group was in Japan as part of the2012 Japan-Germany youth instructors’ seminar, “Youth
Education at Museums”.
After viewing the exhibits at the museum, the group held adiscussion with the director of the Museum, Mr. Maeda, andother Museum employees. The German participants raised issues such as the aging of the survivors of the Jewish concentration camps and the fact that there are children who do notwant to see exhibits related to war, and also asked questions
about the situation at the Peace Memorial Museum. There wasa suggestion that approaching war from the perspective offamily history may enable children to see war as somethingthat they can relate to, by appealing to their humanity.
Although the discussion was short, this was a precious opportunity to hear directly about the current situation at German
museums.

(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

Welcoming United Nations Disarmament
Fellows(Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)

Atomic Bomb Testimonial Talks Held

Communicating the actual bombing damage to many
The United Nations Disarmament Fellows group in front of
A-bomb Dome

Last year, this Foundation held once again Atomic Bombing
Testimonial Talks, where people visiting Peace Memorial Park
could hear atomic bomb testimonials without having to apply
in advance.
The talks were held a total of 16 times (of which 4 times
were in English) for seven days from August 4-6, 13, 14, andOctober 5 and 6. An animation about the atomic bombing was
also shown.
In total, there were 1,343 visitors during the period fromwithin and outside Hiroshima Prefecture, ranging from smallchildren to those from generations who had experienced war,
and all listened intently to the talks. Some of the comments

Trainees (Fellows) in the United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Program, which is run by the United Nations to train disarmament specialists, were welcomed to Hiroshima for threedays last year from September 28.

The United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Programis a training program that was established by the United
Nations in 1979. Trainees have been coming to Hiroshima
every year since 1983, and a total of approximately 770
trainees have visited Hiroshima to date.
This time, 25 young diplomats from 25 countries par4

provided on the questionnaire included “This must never happen again”, “This taught me the importance of peace and life”,
and “I want to communicate this to children”.
(Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)

Saya Mizuno
5th year student,
Katsuyama Elementary School
Shimonoseki City,
Yamaguchi Prefecture

Atomic bombing witness speaking about the actual damage fromthe atomic bombing

Yuki Omori
6th year student,
Hirafuku Elementary School
Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture

30th Hiroshima Peace Calligraphy Exhibition
Fervent wishes for peace expressed in writing

Recording of Testimonies of Atomic Bomb
Survivors from Outside Hiroshima

The 30th Hiroshima Peace Calligraphy Exhibition (sponsor:
Hiroshima Peace Calligraphy Exhibition Executive Committee[comprising Mainichi Shimbun, Mainichi Shodokai, thisFoundation]) was held October 21-23, 2012 at the Peace
Memorial Museum.
The 5,428 fine works expressing the preciousness of peace
and the dignity of life were submitted by a wide range of people aged from 5 to 95, mainly from Hiroshima Prefecture but
also other prefectures from Hokkaido to Kagoshima. This year
some submissions came from Americans, Chinese and Koreansliving in Japan.
Every work received an award: Special Award, Special
Selection Award, Award of Excellence, Honorable Mention, or
simply Award. The award ceremony for the 113 works that
won the Special Award was held on October 21.
The 933 works awarded either the Special Award or theAward of Excellence were on display at the exhibition, whichdrew 1,149 visitors over the three days. On the first day, many
award winners from all over Japan shared their pleasure andtook commemorative photos in front of their work with theirfamily and friends.

During recording

At the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the
Atomic Bomb Victims, the testimonies of atomic bomb survivors living in Japan (in prefectures other than Hiroshima) andoverseas are made as recordings.

(Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)

This year, the testimonies of atomic bomb survivors living in Chiba Prefecture (6 people), Saitama Prefecture (5people), Tokyo (6 people), Kanagawa Prefecture (13 people) and Nara Prefecture (1 person), as well as Korea (1person) and America (2 people) were recorded.
In the testimonies, the survivors spoke about the situation at the time of the bombing, when they moved to otherprefectures or overseas, and their life since that time. The
films recorded will be edited and then screened in the library (B1) from April of this year.
We will continue to record as many of such precious
atomic bombing testimonials from within and outside Japanas possible, for communication to future generations. In addition to these testimonial films, visitors can also read thetestimonials and other related books. Please visit and experience the feelings and words of the survivors for yourself.

Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation Chairperson’s Award

Kaori Kodera
4th year student,
Asahi Elementary School
Fuchu City, Hiroshima Prefecture(Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims)
5the course diligently took notes as they nodded or showed surprise at what the instructor was saying.
In the next part of the course, two current supporters gave
presentations on their regular activities. These were extremely
well-received, with participants commenting that they wereable to develop a concrete idea of what they would be doing.
There were many questions and much lively discussion.
In the report session, ten supporters gave reports on theirrecent activities and exchanged information with the instructor. The supporters reported that through their activities they
were able to rediscover Japan and they learned many thingsfrom the international students, demonstrating clearly the significance of the support activities. The session was also a good
opportunity for the supporters to get together and talk.
We plan to further enhance this system, which enables the
supporters to interact naturally as good partners with international students, while achieving personal growth.

2012 Hiroshima Scholarship Award Ceremonyand Reception
The Hiroshima Scholarship Program was established in 1988,
and as of 2011 a total of 713 people have received scholarshipsupport.
Last year, thirty privately-funded students studying at universities in Hiroshima City were selected as Hiroshima
Scholarship Students.
On July 11 (Wed), the Scholarship Award Ceremony and a
reception were held with a total of 46 people in attendance, including the scholarship students, guests (contributors to theHiroshima Fund for Foreign Students), those from the universities that the students attend and members of the selection
committee.
Speeches were made encouraging the scholarship students,and six student representatives spoke of their determination to
succeed.
For the students, this was a good opportunity to think
about the significance of studying in Hiroshima and the meaning of the scholarship funds that they will receive from theHiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, and they fully understood the great importance of the Hiroshima Scholarship.
This was also an opportunity for the donators and scholarship students to interact directly, further enhancing the significance of the Hiroshima Scholarship Program.

(Hiroshima City International House)

2012 Hiroshima City Naka Waste Incineration
Plant TourTaking an interest in everyday life

At Hiroshima City International House, a tour of Hiroshima
City Environment Bureau Naka Waste Incineration Plant isheld every year as part of the living support activities for theinternational students. This year the tour was held on October
20 (Sat). The number of participants was small due to otherevents being held, but it was an extremely informative tour.
At the plant, participants first watched an explanatory video on the waste treatment process and environmental protection activities. This was followed by a tour of the facilities,
with an explanation provided by an engineer.
Participants expressed their surprise now and then as they
viewed the various facilities that they would not normally beable to see. They leaned forward to take photos and continually asked questions. The engineer too was extremely impressedby their interest in the plant.
The students seemed satisfied with this valuable experience, commenting that they had not been interested in waste or
the environment up until now and this had been a good opportunity for them to reassess their regular lifestyle. We will continue to set up this kind of opportunity in the future.

(Hiroshima City International House)

2012 Fall Japanese Language Supporter
Training Course and Report Session
Good partners for international students

In May of last year, the Japanese Language Supporter Training
Course was held at Hiroshima City International House. Dueto the many requests received after the course, Fall Training
Course was held on October 7 (Sun). For this latter course, thenumber of applicants exceeded the number being recruited, indicating the high level of interest among Hiroshima citizens in
the international students.

(Hiroshima City International House)

Participants listening intently during the course

Associate Professor Kazunari Iwata of the Faculty ofInternational Studies at Hiroshima City University provided
instruction on “The position of the Japanese language in theworld”, “Language Acquisition” and “Non-Japanese people”.
This was followed by a hands-on exercise where participants
corrected text written by international students. Participants in

Participants looking satisﬁed with the informative tour

6

International House Festival 2012
― With Energy! 2012 ―Mongolia, who received prizes including a return air ticketfrom Hiroshima to Tokyo. The Award of Excellence went to
Khaldoon Hussein from Syria and Sun Yiwen from China.

International House Festival 2012 was held at Hiroshima City
International House on November 4 (Sun), 2012, with the aimof furthering interaction between international students andother non-Japanese residents, and the people of Hiroshima
City.
This year was the twelfth time that the festival has been
held. Setting as its theme “With Energy! 2012”, the festival
aimed to promote international exchange and cooperation activities at International House, and demonstrate International
House’s energy and dynamism.

At the annual “National Specialty Cuisine World Food Stalls
Event”, thirteen organizations from twelve countries or regions
set up stalls in the area outside International House and served
up a variety of cuisines from their home countries. To ensurethat the event was a “clean” event, the Reuse Project was adopted, using reusable plates and utensils that can be used again
after washing. Efforts were also made to reduce the amount ofwaste produced.

The opening ceremony was held on the second floor hall at
10:00am. After a speech by Mr. Seizo Sakoda, the Director ofInternational House, there was a performance by Puccina, acitizens’ fanfare group, for a rousing start to the 2012
International House Festival. As with previous years the festival was held at the same time at the same time as the Kojin region’s Kojin Ebisu Festival, and blessed with good weather, it
was a lively, fun day with around 2,800 participants, exceeding last year’s number.
Following on from last year, the international students wanted
to use the opportunity of the Festival to make this an event thatwould encourage those affected by the Great East Japan
Earthquake, and for this purpose organized the Fukushima
Support section. Working together with members of the
Fukushima Prefecture Association of Hiroshima, they set up astall selling imoni (stewed potato), a specialty of the Tohoku
region, that they had prepared the day before the festival. They
sold 300 dishes of the miso-based stew, full of taros, meat andother vegetables, together with Koshihikari rice from
Fukushima, for a profit of 20,000 yen. The proceeds were donated via the Fukushima Prefecture Association to people whohave evacuated from Fukushima to Hiroshima.

A variety of food stalls

Mini-events were also held by the international students in thevenue’s hall. There was a koto performance, dances from
Mongolia, Nepal and Indonesia that are rarely seen in Japan,
as well as piano and singing performances.
An event called “I Love My Homeland - Chatting with
International Students” was held in the training room, and students from sixteen countries spoke about their home countries.
Students who had just arrived in 2012 from Papua New Guinea
and Nigeria put great effort into introducing their home countries in a mixture of English and a little Japanese, leaving alasting impression on the audience. Many of the Hiroshima
citizens in the audience commented that having the opportunity to interact with the international students was an enjoyable
and valuable experience.
In the Exchange Lounge on the first floor were a numberof fascinating street performances and workshops by
Hiroshima citizens, including nankintamasudare (street performance using bamboo blinds), a balloon show, hula dancing,magic, ikebana flower arrangement, balloon art, and an environmental awareness section.

The annual ANA International Students’ Japanese SpeechContest was held again, on the theme of “My Source ofEnergy”, and speeches were given by ten international students who had passed the qualifying round. This year, thejudging panel also included ten members of the public, and thelevel of the speeches this year was judged as particularly high.
The Grand Prix was awarded to Xing An, from Chinese

On the day, twelve students from Hiroshima City University
and Hiroshima Jogakuin University and eleven members of
the JICA Kizuna Project worked as volunteers with the international students to make this a meaningful day of international exchange.
(Hiroshima City International House)

Speech contest awards ceremony

7

Step into the world together!

Day of International Cooperation and Exchange 2012
On November 18 (Sun), 2012, thirty-one international exchange and cooperation events were held at International
Conference Center Hiroshima, the nature strip on Peace
Boulevard, and other venues.
This year marked the 13th time that the event has been
held, and attracted a total of 6,850 visitors. Participants learned
in a fun way about international exchange and cooperation(sponsors: 2012 International Day of Cooperation andExchange Executive Committee, comprising seventy organizations including this Foundation and Hiroshima City).

importance of international cooperation activities, including
those of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). A
JICA international cooperation reporter and overseas teacher
training participants from Hiroshima and Shimane who had
visited developing nations (four people in total), each spoke
about their visits, and held a talk session on the topic of whatkind of international cooperation is required from now on.
This was followed by a report by Ms. Maki Hamanaga
from Hiroshima City’s JICA desk. She spoke about the local
people’s response and JICA members’ comments regarding
JICA’s Overseas Atomic Bomb Exhibition that was held forthe 100th time this year.
“Do you know? About the returnees from China...?”
This year, the Chugoku/Shikoku Branch of The Support andCommunications Centers for People Returning from China,
who support Japanese returnees from China, participated in theevent for the first time. Panels and other displays were used todescribe in a simple way the current state of returnees from
China. In addition to the displays, there were also participantoriented sections organized, where people could try “Chineseknotting”, and take photos wearing Tai Chi outfits and othercostumes. The event was hugely popular. Visitors enjoyed interacting with returnees from China through this event.

Enjoying the World Kitchen World Kitchen and International Craft Bazaar
Various foods from countries around the world prepared bytwenty organizations were on sale in the nature strip on Peace
Boulevard on the south side of International ConferenceCenter Hiroshima, named Hiroshima International Village
World Kitchen. At the International Craft Bazaar, fourteen organizations sold a variety of international crafts and other objects. Both events attracted many visitors. Proceeds from thetwo events will go towards the international cooperation activities of the participating organizations.

“Chikyu no Stage 4” -The long trip home and thefuture after the disaster
This year once again Mr. Norihiko Kuwayama, a psychiatrist
with a practice in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture, who is involved in international medical aid activities, played the roleof guide. Using commentary and enlarged images, Mr.
Kuwayama described various incidents happening in Japanand around the world.
①Java Earthquake rescue
Local children had lost all hope as a result of the damage
they suffered from the major earthquake that hit Indonesia inMay, 2006. Mr. Kuwayama showed images of how he usedmusic to bond emotionally with the children, who then spoke
to him about their hopes for the future. Through this he conveyed the tragedy of the damage caused by natural disasters
and the noble courage of those who overcome and move on
from such tragedy.
②Around Japan by bicycle
Mr. Kuwayama described the bicycle trip he made around
Japan as a soul-searching exercise. He spoke of the many people he met along the way and his interaction with his family
who met with him when he returned after his trip. He related
anecdotes that made him realize that rather than surviving on
one’s own, it is important to live together with those around us.
③Future after the disaster
Mr. Kuwayama spoke of the current state in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, including his activities to care for the emotional health of sick children in Natori
City, Miyagi Prefecture, and the efforts of the members of theassociation for the deceased from Yuriage Elementary School,
who have overcome their grief to take their first steps forward.
The audience was deeply affected by Mr. Kuwayama’s
message and many were moved to tears.

 International exchange and cooperation activities
Approximately twenty-five organizations, including civic
groups, universities and corporations, set up booths where they
explained their respective international exchange and cooperation activities. Visitors commented that this was their first opportunity to learn that there are so many international exchange and cooperation organizations in Hiroshima.
 Introduction/Experience of Japanese traditional culture
This event is popular with non-Japanese visitors every year,
and once again sections were set up for participants to try on
kimonos, and experience tea ceremony, ikebana flower arrangement, and hand-drawn Yuzen dyeing. This was an opportunity for non-Japanese visitors to experience Japanese culture, and Japanese visitors to reacquaint themselves with thewonderful elements of their own culture.
In addition to these events there was also a quiz rally, whereparticipants could win a present by going around the event
venue and answering questions, events for families to enjoy, avisa and legal advice section for non-Japanese visitors, anevent to support children from developing nations by donating
keyboard harmonicas and foreign currency coins, and more.
Each venue was bustling with people.
Many students who helped with the event as volunteers
commented on how much they enjoyed the day and said thatthey would like to do it again next year.

Something must be done! Project-Talk Show
A talk session was held on the “Something must be done!
Project”, the aim of which is to promote throughout Japan the8(International Relations and Cooperation Division)People who convey the “Spirit of Hiroshima”;

Communicating Tones of Peace-Interview with Mr. Mitsunori Yagawa, piano tuner, Yagawa Piano Studioabout the experiences of the local people. Although they may
have felt obligated to say so, I felt that around 70-80% of thepeople I spoke to are opposed to nuclear weapons. I think that
this is the reason that no atomic weapon has been used since
they were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It seemed tome that people understand that nuclear weapons are horrificweapons that must not be used. I believe that this is the resultof what Hiroshima and Nagasaki have continuously stated up
until the present.

The Phoenix Tree Peace Concert is held near the Phoenix
Trees Exposed to the A-Bomb in Peace Memorial Park on
August 6 every year. The beautiful tones are produced by thehibaku (a-bomb survivor) pianos. We spoke to Mr. Mitsunori
Yagawa, who restores the pianos and holds Peace Concerts
throughout the country.
First encounter with a hibaku piano
Since starting up my piano studio around twenty years ago, I
have been working as a volunteer in activities to take on andrestore pianos lying unused in homes, which are then donatedto schools and other facilities in Japan and overseas. It was
through these activities that I encountered a piano that was
found miraculously unscathed in ruins after the atomic bombing, and was entrusted with the piano by its owner. Treating
the piano as a precious document of the bombing, I retained as
many original parts as possible as I have restored the piano,
which means that the tone produced by the piano is almost thesame as it was at the time (prior to the bombing). I currently
have four pianos in my studio.

Leading up to the concerts
In addition to the piano tuning, I also do basically all pianotransportation and arrangement of pianists myself. I cannot
carry the heaviest grand pianos by myself so I contract them toa transportation service company, but for the other pianos, I
dismantle and package them in my studio and put them in mytruck, then drive them myself to the venue. I then reassemble
them, set them up at the venue, and once the concert is over I
take them back to my studio in the same way. Recently I receive around 140 requests for concerts each year, and I haveheld over 900 concerts in various regions to date.
Lately I have been holding around 40 concerts a year for
students on school excursions. When they ask for a talk before
the concert, I take care to summarize and make sure that it
does not go on for too long. This is because I do not want todepress the children, by making them feel that they were madeto listen to a long talk on a painful subject when they went toHiroshima. There are painful stories, but I want the children tohave hope, and come back to Hiroshima again.

One of the hibaku pianos, “Misako’s piano”. It was found in a house 1.8km fromthe hypocenter. Although it escaped burning due to the concrete structure of
the building, innumerable scratches remain on the piano’ s surface. The pianostool is retained as it was at the time.

Opportunity leading to concerts
In 2001 I started the Phoenix Tree Peace Concert together with
Ms. Suzuko Numata, an atomic bomb survivor. This is an initiative that combines Ms. Numata’s atomic bombing testimony
with the Hibaku Piano concert, under the Phoenix Trees
Exposed to the A-Bomb.
I was invited to the Nagasaki Peace Music Festival in
2004, and this became the opportunity to hold Hibaku Piano
concerts in other prefectures. We held a concert at Aichi Expoin 2005, which was the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing, and we have held concerts in 43 prefectures to date.
The Hibaku Piano concert that was held in New York in2010 in memory of those who lost their lives in 9.11 became
the start of our international concerts. We were criticized bysome in Japan for holding a concert in America, the country
that dropped the atomic bomb, but we received full support
from the New York Fire Department, partly due to the fact thatmy late father was a firefighter himself. (343 New York City
firefighters lost their lives as they worked on rescue efforts after the terrorist attacks in America on September 11, 2001.)
My father was at the Hiroshima West Fire Station in Otemachi (approximately 800m from the hypocenter) when theatomic bomb was dropped. He survived by using the knife that
firefighters carried in a holster at the time to break through thecollapsed ceiling and escape. The details of my father’s experience are recorded in “Firefighting History of Hiroshima after
the Bomb” (issued by Hiroshima City Fire Department, 1975).
In New York I had many opportunities to hear directly

A grand piano found in an elementary school 2km from the hypocenter. It has
six legs and weighs over 600kg. Greatly damaged, the piano was extensively
restored by Mr. Yagawa (front).

Future activities
The reality of the damage of the atomic bombing has still notbeen fully communicated even in Japan, to people living inprefectures other than Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sometimes I
am asked whether radiation is emitted from the hibaku pianos.
Even when I am asked questions that come from ignorance or
prejudice, I make sure that I have studied the basics of theatomic bomb so that I can answer the questions properly.
Continuing with the Hibaku Piano concerts is like sowing
seeds of peace.
However, I do not want to pass on these activities to myson. Although my son has studied piano tuning and restoration,
I believe that these activities should end with his generation,
the third generation after the atomic bombing. It may not be
feasible while the atomic bomb survivors are alive, but I hopethat in my generation, the second generation since the bombing, we can achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons and thena peaceful era with no nuclear weapons.
9(Interview conducted August 2012)

at the next stop, Seno. The five of us started walking toHiroshima, where huge amounts of smoke were rising up.

Memoir of the A-bombing;Tragic 1 Year Junior High School StudentsstI hope they survive
We entered Hiroshima City from Higashi Ohashi Bridge,
around three kilometers from the hypocenter. The narrow
wooden bridge was covered in bomb survivors dragging theskin that had peeled away and was hanging down from theirfingertips. Around their feet two young children appeared likea vision.
A girl who looked around the age of a 2nd year elementary
school student was pulling the hand of her sister, who wasprobably around three years old. Their faces were swollen up
like balloons, with small dimples that must have been theireyes and mouth. We could hear a faint voice. “Hold on tight”.
The girl was encouraging her younger sister, and that voice remained with us as the two young sisters disappeared into thecrowd.
I hope they survive. All I could do was watch them go, andthat was my prayer.

by Syunichiro Arai

Atomic Bomb Witness
for This Foundation

Involved in building demolition work
In the spring of 1945, when major cities throughout the country had been destroyed in the indiscriminate bombing attacks
by the US military, an order to mobilize was sent out to 1st year
junior high school students who had just started at school. All
1st year junior high school students were then mobilized toforcefully tear down buildings in the shopping districts, in order to create a firebreak zone of a width of 100m passing fromeast to west of the Hiroshima City metropolitan area.
We were 1 st year students at the Junior High School
Attached to Hiroshima Normal High School, and we too were
mobilized. Our role as junior high school students was to carryaway the waste materials from buildings that had been cut
down with saws by adults.

“Little sisters gone...
I wish they were still
alive”Created by:Manami Nakasuka(Motomachi High School,
Standard Stream Creative
Expression Course) andSyunichiro Arai
(Eyewitness to the atomic
bombing)

Mobilization of volunteer corps from rural areas
At the beginning of July, to encourage building demolition
work, representatives from junior high schools were called tothe prefectural government office. In the presence of senior officers from the military and the government, one teacher
spoke. “The air strikes are getting worse all over the country,
and on top of that, making young junior high school students
work in the scorching heat is extremely dangerous. Our
school’s students will be going to rural villages to increase
food production”. Although high-ranking military officials
raised their voices, yelling and threatening that teacher, apparently no-one opposed what the teacher said.
On July 20, leaving a few behind, eighty of us 1st year students were taken by our teacher to Hara Village, Kamo-gun(the name at that time), and started work to support the farmers there who had lost workers to conscription.

My school was gone
On the afternoon of the next day, the 7th, I managed to reachSenda-machi, the place where my school should have been.
The area had turned into a field of devastation, with a single
red-brick building of Bunrika University remaining. I could
see some people involved in what appeared to be aid activities.
I saw a person there who looked like a teacher from myschool, and I shouted “I have a report to submit!” I then gave
the teacher the document that I had been given by my homeroom teacher. I found out later that the bodies of three of myclassmates and two teachers were discovered in the burnt ruinsof the school.
As a 1st year junior high school student, I loyally obeyed
the orders of a teacher. Although I had fulfilled my duty, I haveabsolutely no recollection of how and where I passed throughto return home after that.

We ended up surviving
In this way, although myself and the other 1st year students at
our school escaped direct damage from the bomb, we suffered
the misfortune of losing the ten students who were left behind
as well as almost all the 1st year students from other schools
who were involved in building demolition work.
The 1st year students who died in the bombing were actually our classmates from elementary school, friends who hadgone on to different junior high schools after graduation. And
we ended up surviving.

Our testament: we must communicate our stories!
The site of the building demolition work in what is now known
as Peace Boulevard is the grave of six thousand people, including all the 1st year junior high school students who were
killed. They were mainly our classmates, people who spent
their elementary school days with us, the survivors.
We have continued to avoid dredging up memories of thetragedy and speaking about the circumstances, and now we areold, almost eighty years old.
I hope you understand these thoughts, the thoughts of a junior high school student who survived and has finally started
to open up and talk. This is our testament.

Permission for gradual return home
We 13-year-olds were staying at various temples and shrines,
and our job was mainly to weed the rice fields. We were sometimes given rice balls from the farmers, who pitied us because
we were so small. We carefully ate every morsel, not leaving
even a single rice grain. Even today I cannot forget the taste of
the white rice that I ate during the food shortages.
It was at that time that our teacher said that they would
gradually let us go home, starting from the ones who had
worked hard. I was one of the fortunate group of five to bechosen to go home. The date was set as August 6.

ProﬁleSyunichiro Arai
Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1931. Lived in Chichibu in Saitama
Prefecture and moved to Hiroshima at the age of eight due to father’s
work transfer.
Witnessed the explosion of the atomic bomb as a 1st year junior highschool student at Hachihonmatsu Station in Kamo-gun (currently
Higashihiroshima City) where he was mobilized at the time. He was thenexposed to the bombing in the Hiroshima City, entering the city from
Higashi-Ohashi Bridge over Enko River, before going to the burnt ruinsof his school.
After graduation from Hiroshima University, employed at Radio Chugoku(currently RCC Broadcasting). Responsible for production of radio andtelevision programs including drama series and documentaries.

The sky ﬂashed
It was 8:15am when I was waiting for the train home toHiroshima on the platform at Hachihonmatsu Station on the
Sanyo Honsen line.
Suddenly there was a flash and the sky burst. I immediately threw myself to the ground. When I finally raised my head,
what I saw was a huge mushroom cloud billowing up into thevoid.
The train to Hiroshima that we boarded stopped operating
10

September the fever mysteriously started going down.

Memoir of the A-bombing;Cancer attacks surviving friends
Of my 300 classmates at the time, only nineteen managed toovercome acute radiation sickness and go back to school.
When we were in the second year of high school, oneclassmate passed away from uncontrolled hemorrhaging, andjust before graduation from university another passed awayfrom leukemia. After that, the illness that has taken all of thosefriends who have passed away as we get older is cancer. There
are already sixteen who have passed away, and the three surviving, including myself, are suffering from compound cancer.

Surviving the Atomic Plainsby Mitsuo Kodama

Atomic Bomb Witness
for This Foundation

Escape from collapsed school building
I experienced the atomic bombing in a classroom around 850m
from the hypocenter. I was a 1st year student at Hiroshima
Prefectural Junior High School No. 1 (Hiroshima 1st JuniorHigh). The old wooden school building collapsed in an instant,and around half of the 1st year students who were waiting totake over building demolition work or were studying there(just over 150 students) were trapped under the rubble.
I miraculously managed to escape by myself. I pulled out anumber of my friends who were asking for help from under
the collapsed school building, but there were still many otherfriends who could not move and were calling for help. There
were some who had had their head split open and some who
had been crushed to death. Once the gloom immediately after
the bombing gradually lifted, I could see many human figuresby the pool in the schoolyard. When I went to the pool to getsome help to rescue the others, I found that the people there
were the remaining half of the 1st year students who had been
involved in building demolition work behind the city hall.
They were burned and in a terrible state.
Many of the injured had come to the pool looking for water. They were in the pool and the water had turned a cloudy
brown color. Surprised at the sight of the seriously injured, I
gave up on finding help and returned to the school building,but the flames were getting closer. Schoolmates who had maybe noticed the smell of smoke and realized that they could not
escape started singing the national anthem and the school
song. The voices of my friends, burned alive, that I could not
help, are seared into my memory forever.

My “abnormal chromosome” resulting from the bombing
My friends contracted cancer when they were young, but mine
was late-occurring cancer,
Normal chromosomesfrom the age of 60. Firstwas rectal cancer. I wastold that the stomach cancer that came three years
later was not metastasis
but rather primary cancer.
I was also told that the
thyroid cancer that I contracted when I was 70 was
not metastasis but compound cancer peculiar to Photos of the chromosomes sampled
Mr. Kodama. Compared with theatomic bomb survivors. fromphoto on the left, ten abnormal chromoSince the age of 65 I have somes can be seen in the photo on the
had operations in 16 plac- right (indicated by arrows).
es for skin cancer.
I was told by specialists at the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation that
because I experienced thebombing at close range, achromosomal abnormality
known as “translocation”
was found. There were
102 instances of translocaAbnormal chromosomestion found in 100 cells,
and because of this the amount of radiation I experienced was
4.6Gy gamma rays. Apparently a half lethal dose is 4.0Gy
gamma rays (mortality rate of 50%).

Lines of refugees in tatters
I fled blindly, surrounded by smoke, and arrived at the mainroad in front of the Red Cross Hospital. It was there that I
came across a line of people in rags, covered in burns andlooking like ghosts, with their hands held out in front of them.
I joined the line too. I moved forward with them, watching ayoung man walking unsteadily, holding in his palm his left
eyeball, which had fallen out. Suddenly a woman’s hand
grabbed my leg. I tried desperately to brush her aside. She wastrapped to the waist by a collapsed wall, and was asking forhelp. The injured soldiers walking beside me also passed by,pretending not to see her. Vomiting many times along the way,
I mustered all my energy to cross Miyuki Bridge, but passed
out near Tanna Station on the former Ujina line. When I cameto I had been brought into a nearby home. That evening I mademy way back to my evacuation home in Hesaka on the Ujinaline, changing to the Geibi line. By the time I got there it wasclose to midnight.
Viewed from Hesaka Station, the sky over Hiroshima wasblazing a bright red color. Facing the direction of the school, I
put my hands together and apologized continuously to thefriends I had left behind.
Hovering on the brink of death
I was suffering from a high fever when I heard the Imperial
decree announcing Japan’s defeat on August 15. At that time
almost all my hair had fallen out, and my gums were continuously bleeding. My mother had heard a rumor that the atomic
bomb (or “flash-boom” as we called it) had contained poison,so she boiled the medicinal herb dokudani and gave it to me todrink, as well as baking the leaves and applying them to myfestering wounds. Around August 20 the fever reached 42 degrees. Purple spots appeared all over my body, and even the
doctor gave up, not knowing how to treat it. However in

What I want to communicate
People who experienced the atomic bombing at close range
had their genes throughout their body split by the huge amountof radiation they were exposed to. The experts told me that abnormal chromosomes occurred because they connected in thewrong way when they were restored, and will never return tothe original form. I was also told that abnormal chromosomes
are more likely to contract cancer.
I have personally experienced the horror of radiation, andas one who has outlived friends who died bitter deaths, I knowthat it is my mission to continue to tell people on their behalfthat nuclear power and humankind cannot coexist.
(note)(*1) chromosomes: biological matter comprising DNA with genetic
information.
(*2) translocation: a part of a separated chromosome joins another chromosome. Two abnormal chromosomes are created in one translocation.

ProﬁleMitsuo Kodama

11

Born in Kojin-machi, Hiroshima City in September 1932. Graduatedfrom Hijiyama Elementary School. Experienced the atomic bombing
as a 1st year student at the former Hiroshima Junior High School No.
1. After overcoming acute radiation sickness was generally healthy.
Following graduation from Hiroshima University, employed at local
government office in hometown. Travelled to Switzerland for a study
tour dispatched by the Ministry of Agriculture’s International Farmer
Friends Association, and after returning to Japan operated a farm.
Later changed career to be employed at Seibu Distribution Group.
Operation for renal cancer at the age of 60, retired. Since that time, underwent 18 cancer operations.

Thinking about Peace:

The Birth of the Green Legacy Hiroshima Initiative
thanks to the support of many people and organizations: inparticular, the currently irreplaceable working group membersof Green Legacy Hiroshima - Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Botanical Garden,
Hiroshima University, Hiroshima Prefecture - as well as horticulturalists and other volunteers.

by Tomoko Watanabe

Executive Director of ANT-Hiroshima

Are you familiar with the gorgeous animated film “THE MAN
WHO PLANTED TREES” by Frédéric Back, which won theGrand Prix at the 2nd Hiroshima Animation Festival (1987)? It
is a beautiful, poetic and moving animated film about a man
who spends his life quietly planting trees, transforming wild
land into a green forest.
The act of planting trees is simple yet beautiful and joyful.
And it is something that anyone can do. In the process of protectively raising the trees that one has planted, we are encouraged and strengthened by the trees, and learn so much aboutlife - life and death, the importance of coexisting with nature,
diversity and generosity. I believe that planting trees is equivalent to building peace.
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was reduced to rubble by
one atomic bomb, and at the time it was said that vegetation
would not grow there for 75 years. However, in that same year
canna and oleander flowers appeared, and charred trees once
again produced buds, a sight that encouraged and gave hope tolive to many Hiroshima citizens. Currently, there are approximately 170 hibaku (atomic bomb survivor) trees in 55 locations within a 2km radius of the hypocenter in Hiroshima City.

Tree-planting ceremony on March 30 this year.
2nd generation hibaku saplings (persimmon trees) were planted in
the nature strip on Peace Boulevard.

I am certain that the success of Green Legacy Hiroshima
Initiative is due to the efforts and progress made by many, including the tree surgeon Mr. Chikara Horiguchi, all those whohave protected and nurtured the hibaku trees for such a longtime, and the many citizens of Hiroshima who, like the a-bomb
survivor Ms. Suzuko Numata who passed away last year,
loved the hibaku phoenix trees and sent out a message of hopeto people all over the world. It is not possible to thank each
person individually, but I would like to express my sincere respect for and gratitude to all for their efforts and support.
On July 1, 2012, we established the voluntary organization
Green Legacy Hiroshima Initiative, to fulfill this ideal and activity that is spreading globally in a more coherent and organized manner. (http://www.unitar.org/greenlegacyhiroshima)
I pray that many partners throughout the world will participate in this initiative, and become ambassadors to proactively
spread Hiroshima’s message of peace and the green legacy intheir respective countries.
Let’s plant trees together!
(August, 2012)

The hibaku camphor tree near the moat at Hiroshima Castle. Approximately 1.1km from the hypocenter.

Ms. Nassrine Azimi, Senior Advisor for UNITAR
Headquarters, says the following about the hibaku trees. “Formany years, as I walked the streets of Hiroshima, I came toknow the power of recovery, the generosity, beauty, and especially the important significance of the special residents ofHiroshima - the trees that survived the atomic bombing andthe descendants of those trees. The hibaku trees, which are survivors of the nuclear tragedy, communicate an important message not only to Hiroshima residents and visitors to Hiroshima,
but to all humankind”.
Ms. Azimi and I worked as joint founders and coordinators
to implement the Green Legacy Hiroshima Initiative, with support from UNITAR and the NPO ANT-Hiroshima, in the year
from July 2011 to June 2012. The aim of the initiative was tosow seeds and shoots from Hiroshima’s a-bomb survivor(hibaku) trees throughout the world, and by doing so protectthese trees and broadly communicate their existence andmeaning.
We set a pilot period of one year for this activity, and succeeded in sending the seeds of Hiroshima’s hibaku trees to almost all continents throughout the world. This was done

ProﬁleTomoko Watanabe

Involved in international cooperation and peace education activities.
Based in the peace city, Hiroshima.
Also conducts her own peace-building activities, including international understanding and peace education for Hiroshima citizens, children, overseas trainees visiting Hiroshima and others.

Information

Our Newsletters Are Accessible on the Internet
You can read our newsletters (Japanese version and English
version) on the Internet.
[URL] http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpcf/paper/〔Request〕Please inform us if you change your mailing address.
HIROSHIMA PEACE CULTURE FOUNDATION
1-2 Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
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
12