HIROSHIMA PEACE CULTURE FOUNDATIONPEACE CULTURE
Vol. 1 No.76

December 2016 (semiannual)

US President Obama’s Visit to Hiroshimatance of communicating the atomic bombing experienceto later generations. He stated “But among those nations
like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles, we must havethe courage to escape the logic of fear, and pursue aworld without them”, thus calling for the political leadersof the world to renew their resolve to create a world freeof nuclear weapons. Finally, he said that if we choose apeaceful future, it will be “a future in which Hiroshima
and Nagasaki are known not as the dawn of atomic warfare, but as thestart of our own
moral awakening.” In this way
he expressed theimportance of using the Hiroshima
and Nagasaki
atomic bombing
experience as the
Speech by President Obama
starting point forfacing the future.
These statements by the President demonstrate that
he understands and accepts the sincere wish of the hibakusha for the abolition of nuclear weapons, their wish
that “no one else should ever suffer as we have.” It also
created an opportunity for many people who had nottaken an interest in this issue before to think about theabolition of nuclear weapons and consider the atomic
bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Prime Minister
Abe stated in his
speech that thefact that the
President of theUnited States had
seen for himself
the reality of thedamage caused by
the atomic bombSpeech by Prime Minister Abe
ing and renewed
his resolve to realize a world free of nuclear weapons,
had given great hope to the people of the world who fervently believe in a nuclear-free world. He also statedthat carrying on the wish of the hibakusha to never repeat such a tragic experience anywhere in the world, andcontinuing tireless efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, is the responsibility of us living now, andhe vowed to fulfill that responsibility.

On May 27, 2016, taking the opportunity of his attendance at G7 JAPAN 2016 Ise-Shima, U.S. President
Barack Obama visited Hiroshima with Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe. It was the first time for a sitting
president of the United States to visit the atomicbombed city.
Tour of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
After arriving at Peace Memorial Park, President
Obama was met by Prime Minister Abe and they madetheir way to the Peace Memorial Museum together. In
front of the museum, they were met by Japanese Foreign
Minister Fumio Kishida, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi
Matsui, and Hiroshima Prefecture Governor Hidehiko
Yuzaki. In the museum the President looked intently at
displays such as paper cranes made by Sadako Sasaki
and listened to explanations by Foreign Minister
Kishida. The President then handed two paper cranes hehad folded himself
to the elementary
school student andjunior high school
student who had
met him there, andhe also added two
paper cranes to theguest book that he Paper cranes folded by President Obamawrote in.
President Obama wrote in the guest book: “We have
known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage,
together, to spread peace and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.” Prime Minister Abe wrote: “I express
my sincere condolences to all the victims of the atomic
bombings. I pray for lasting peace and will do my utmost to realize a world free of nuclear weapons.”
Laying of Wreath and Speech at Cenotaph for
the Atomic Bomb Victims
After touring the Peace Memorial Museum, the two
leaders proceeded to the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb
Victims, led by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline
Kennedy, Foreign Minister Kishida, Mayor Matsui andGovernor Yuzaki. They laid wreathes that they had been
handed by high school students who have been designated as Youth Communicators for a World without Nuclear
Weapons, and offered a silent prayer.
Both leaders then made speeches.
In his speech, President Obama touched on the horrors of the atomic bombing, and expressed the impor1

weapons.
The Mayor said that for future initiatives, Hiroshima
City will work together with Nagasaki City to build international momentum, by continuing with calls for thepeople of the world to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
and calling for the abolishment of nuclear weapons
through Mayors for Peace activities.

Speaking with Hibakusha
After his
speech, President
Obama exchanged somewords with Mr.
Sunao Tsuboi,
who is himself ahibakusha andchairperson of
the Japan Confederation of Aand H-BombSufferers Organizations, as wellas with Mr.
Shigeaki Mori,also a hibakusha,
who conducted asurvey on twelve
American prisin conversation with the two leaders
oners of war who Hibakusha(top: Mr. Tsuboi, bottom: Mr. Mori)lost their lives in
the atomic bombing.

(Photographs: ‘Paper cranes folded by President Obama’ provided by Peace Memorial Museum, others provided by the Cityof Hiroshima)(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

G7 Hiroshima Foreign Ministers’Meeting
The G7 Hiroshima
Foreign Ministers’Meeting was heldon April 10 and 11,
2016, chaired by
Japanese Ministerof Foreign Affairs
Fumio Kishida.
Foreign ministers
including US
Laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph for the ASecretary of State Bomb Victims
John Kerry, Italian
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation Paolo Gentiloni, UK Foreign andCommonwealth Secretary Philip Hammond, Canadian
Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion, German
Minister for Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier,French Minister for Foreign Affairs and International
Development Jean-Marc Ayrault, and the High
Representative of the European Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, gathered in Hiroshima for the meeting. They held discussions on urgent global issues such as countermeasuresagainst terrorism and violent fundamentalism, refugee
issues, disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation, andmaritime security, as well as the regional situation in
North Korea, the Middle East and Ukraine. In response
to a proposal from the City of Hiroshima, the program
also included a visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Museum and a laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph for the
A-Bomb Victims, so that the participants could see thereality of the damage from the bombing and share thedesire for peace.
At the Peace Memorial Museum, Foreign Minister
Kishida, together with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi
Matsui, Chairperson of this Foundation Yasuyoshi
Komizo, and Director of the Museum Kenji Shiga, gave
an explanation about the reality of the bombing to theG7 foreign ministers. The foreign ministers participatedin the tour attentively, and stayed in the museum far longer than originally planned. At the end of the visit was
the signing of the guest book. US Secretary of State Mr.
Kelly wrote “This memorial compels us all to redouble
our efforts to change the world, to find peace and build
the future so yearned for by citizens everywhere”.
At the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims after this,the foreign ministers were welcomed by Hiroshima City
elementary school students, and placed wreaths there.

Explanation of Atomic Bomb DomeThe two leaders then proceeded to Atomic Bomb
Dome, and looking at the Dome from the North side of
the Flame of Peace, listened to the explanation by
Foreign Minister Kishida. President Obama also listened
intently as Mr. Kishida provided explanations of theChildren’s Peace Monument and the paper cranes thathave been sent from all over the world, which can beseen in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Press Conference by Mayors of Hiroshima andNagasakiAfter President
Obama’s visit toHiroshima ended,
Mayor Matsui wasinterviewed together with
Nagasaki Mayor
Tomihisa Taue.
He expressed his
gratitude to the Press conference by mayors of Hiroshima andgovernments of Nagasaki
Japan and the United States for achieving the visit to aregion hit by the atomic bomb by a sitting Americanpresident, something that both cities had been calling forover many years.
He also commented that by actually seeing the damage caused by the bombing and coming into contact
with the experience of the hibakusha and their desire forpeace, President Obama now had an even stronger resolve to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. He
also expressed his expectation for the Japanese government to take the lead in international debate on the abolition of nuclear weapons, in its role as a bridge between
nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states.
Mayor Matsui said that this visit by President Obama
could lead to visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by otherworld leaders, and as such is an historic starting point tomake progress together toward a world free of nuclear2

dowpanes were smashed and scattered. I tried to go in
the classroom, but the corridor ceiling had fallen down
and I could not get in, so I went home.
The second floor of my home was partly twisted, theshutters and sliding doors had blown away, and drawers
and cupboards had fallen over. I could not get inside thehouse, so I was playing on the veranda with my younger
sister when the sky turned dark and it started to rain.
Our cat Tama walked slowly out to the garden in therain. We had a cat in our family to catch mice, as theywould get into the rice and barley that we had harvested.
Tama was a black
and white spotted
cat, but the rain
turned the cat’s
white fur black. It
was unusual to see
black rain, so I went
outside too andcaught the rain in Gym uniform with stains from black rain
both hands. This (Donated by Toyoko Matsumiya to Hiroshiwas the strange, ma Peace Memorial Museum)
sticky ‘black rain’.

In response to
Secretary Kelly’s
proposal, there wasa sudden changeof plans and thegroup proceeded
to the Atomic
Bomb Dome. At
the press confer- Mayor Matsui provides an explanation in front
ence after, Secre- of Atomic Bomb Dometary Kelly said
that he would definitely report to President Obama on
what he had seen there, and communicate to him how
important it is to visit Hiroshima.
The participants at the meeting this time confirmed
the need to send out a strong message to achieve a world
without nuclear weapons from the G7 group, which ismade up of both nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear
weapon states, and issued the G7 Foreign Ministers’
Hiroshima Declaration on Nuclear Disarmament and
Non-Proliferation.
(Photographs provided by the City of Hiroshima)(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

The man’s burns
A man that we knew came into the garden wearing
only his underwear and carrying a futon (mattress).
Saying “Water, give me water!!” he collapsed on the veranda. He had horrible burns, and it looked like he could
not move.
My grandmother and mother laid him on the futonand gave him water. He then vomited something thatlooked like yellow water. His clothes were hanging
down from his arms, so my mother cut them off withscissors, and when she did, we saw that it was not justhis clothes hanging down – stuck to the clothes was theburnt skin from his shoulders, neck and arms. They put
oil on his burns, but there was not enough oil, so they also applied some grated cucumber, which was thought at
the time to be good for burns. Before we knew it countless flies were swarming around his wounds.
The man had a high fever, and passed away just after
noon on August 7.

Memoir of the A-Bombing

So that Hiroshima does not justbecome an old folk tale

by Reiko Yamamoto
Atomic Bomb Witness
for this Foundation
Experiencing the bombing in the schoolyard
Although the national school that I attended was inan area neighboring Hiroshima City, it was a rural area,
so in 1945 there were no group evacuations. The summer holidays were scheduled to start from August 10.
August 6 was a Monday, and it was a hot morning. I
was a Grade 1 student, and when I arrived at school I
put my bag in the classroom and went out into theschoolyard to play.
I heard voices yelling “It’s a plane!!” “It’s a B-29!!”,and when I looked up at the sky two planes gleaming
silver in the morning sun were flying up and down. I
thought “How pretty”, and at that moment there was aflash of light, and I thought “The sun has fallen!!”The clouds of dust turned the schoolyard an ocher
color, and everything went dark as if it were dusk.
Children running around trying to escape were bumping
into one another and falling over. I also tried to escapewith my friend. The clouds of dust gradually settled, andas it became lighter and I could see around me, I left theschool through the back gate and crouched under the veranda of a house nearby. There were around ten older
students near me.
The older students eventually went back to school,
so I followed them back. The two-story schoolhouse
was standing as is, but roof tiles had fallen and the win-

Everyone working together for peaceLife after the war was tough, with little food. As myfamily home was a farm, we did have simple food to eat.
However, relatives whose houses had burned and wereleft with nothing came to live with us, and life with somany people in the house was hard.
My daily chore in the fall was collecting grasshoppers from rice fields after the harvest. I would catch thegrasshoppers with a net, and put them in a large bottle.
When left in the bottle for a day, waste is discharged
from their bodies. After that, we would roast or fry themand eat them. On school days when we had to bring a
box lunch to school, everyone would come home to eat
lunch. Our staple foods were rice gruel with sweet potato and soup with dumplings, and these could not be taken to school in the lunchboxes used in those days.
From about ten years after the war ended, more andmore people started dying from diseases like leukemia.
The grade 1 and grade 2 students who experienced thebombing because they were not evacuated as a groupfell ill and suffered from poor health, and some even3that we must listen to the calls
and appeals
from the hibakusha and takefurther action.
The mayorstrongly statedthat we must res p e c t d i v e r s e Hiroshima Mayor Matsui reads out the Peacevalues and con- Declaration
tinue to strive tocreate a world where we can all live together.
The mayor also made reference to the remark madeby President Obama when he visited Hiroshima in May,
the first visit to Hiroshima by a sitting president of thecountry that dropped the bomb: “… among those nations like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles, we musthave the courage to escape the logic of fear, and pursue
a world without them”. The mayor said that these words
were proof that President Obama’s accepts the hibakusha’s heartfelt plea that “no one else should ever suffer
as we have”, and demonstrate to the people of America
and the world a passion to eliminate all remaining nuclear weapons. They show that the spirit of Hiroshima,
which refuses to accept the ‘absolute evil’, reached thePresident.
The mayor also spoke of the fact that now is the timeto act in solidarity and with passion, based on the spiritof Hiroshima, to build the path toward the abolition of
nuclear weapons. In April, the G7 foreign ministers
gathered together for the first time in Hiroshima and, going beyond the lines dividing nations with and without
nuclear weapons, issued a declaration where they called
for the world’s political leaders to visit Hiroshima andNagasaki, called for early entry into force of theComprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and fulfillment of their obligation to conduct disarmament negotiations based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The mayor stated that this was a real step toward unity.
After the Peace Declaration, the children’s representatives Yuta Aoki and Tariho Nakaoku read out theCommitment to Peace. In the Commitment, they said
that today, as they get closer to the time when they will
no longer be able to directly ask the hibakusha about theatomic bombing, they feel that peace is spreading when
they see many people from all over the world visit
Hiroshima and feel for themselves the terror of theatomic bomb, and promise to convey to others what
happened on that day. They stated: “We have a duty toconvey the hibakusha’s words, which have been entrusted to us. Each of us, in our own, deliberate words, willcommunicate and pass on to those who do not know
war, to members of the next generation, and to people
around the world, the treasure of life and the desire forpeace”.
This was followed by an address by Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe. He stated that it is the responsibility of
those living now to make tireless efforts to ensure thatthe horrific tragedies that took place in Hiroshima andNagasaki 71 years ago are never repeated. He stated:“As the only country to have experienced the horror of
nuclear devastation in war, Japan will appeal for the importance of maintaining and strengthening the regime of
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weaponscommitted suicide.
War is started by people. If we want to protect humankind and the Earth, we must not wage war, and wemust definitely not use nuclear weapons. I hope that we
can work together to protect the world and achieve lasting peace with no nuclear weapons.
ProfileReiko Yamamoto
Born 1938. Experienced the atomic bombing as a grade 1 elementary
school student, aged 7, in the schoolyard of a national school 4.1km
from the hypocenter, when looking up at the B-29 heavy bomber. Afterthe war, worked at a casualty insurance company, then left to focus onchild rearing. Working at an after-school childcare facility since 1980.
Active as a Hiroshima Peace Volunteer since 2005.

71th Peace Memorial Ceremony-There still remain 15,000 nuclear weaponsthat could destroy the Earth itselfOn August 6, 2016, the 71st since the atomic bombing,the Peace Memorial Ceremony was held by the City ofHiroshima in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park. At theceremony, approximately 50,000 people including hibakusha and bereaved families prayed for the repose of thesouls of the deceased and perpetual peace.
The ceremony commenced at 8am. First Hiroshima
Mayor Kazumi Matsui and two representatives of thefamilies of the deceased dedicated three volumes of theRegister of the Names of the Fallen Atomic Bomb
Victims, in which are recorded the names of 5,511 people who have passed away over the past year, to theshrine in the Memorial Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb
Victims. This brings the total number of names recordedin the Register to 303,195 people, in a total of 111 volumes.
This was followed by an address by Mr. Masanori
Nagata, Chairperson of the Hiroshima City Council, anda dedication of flowers by various representatives. At
8:15am, the time that the bomb was dropped, Mr.
Sosuke Kamemoto, representing the bereaved families,
and Yui Takeda, the children’s representative, rang thePeace Bell, and all participants observed a minute of silence.
Mayor Matsui then read out the Peace Declaration.
He spoke of the fact that at 8:15am on August 6, 1945,
the atomic bomb – the ‘absolute evil’ – was dropped on
Hiroshima, and by the end of that year 140,000 precious
lives had been lost. Even those who barely managed tosurvive suffered from radiation sickness, faced discrimination in employment and marriage, and bore deep
physical and emotional scars that they still carry today.
He also read out graphic testimonies from hibakusha.
The mayor also said that today, 71 years later, there
are still over 15,000 nuclear weapons that are far more
destructive than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, andwhich could destroy the Earth itself. It is now known
that there have been many incidents and accidents that
could lead to nuclear war or a nuclear explosion, andthere are concerns about nuclear weapons falling into
the hands of terrorists. In the face of this reality, he said
4

(NPT) while firmly upholding the ‘Three Non-Nuclear
Principles’. Japan will continue to make various efforts
to bring about ‘a world free of nuclear weapons’ by calling for cooperation from both nuclear weapon states andnon-nuclear weapon states and having world leaders andyoung people become directly acquainted with the tragic
reality of the atomic bombings.” He also expressed his
intention to steadily promote relief measures, properly
taking into account the current situation of the hibakusha, whose average age is now over 80 years old.
At the ceremony were representatives of bereaved
families from 37 prefectures, as well as ambassadors
and representatives from 91 countries, including theEuropean Union and the nuclear weapon states of theUnited States, the United Kingdom, France and Russia.
The ceremony was broadcast live on the Internet,
and the video of the ceremony can be viewed on‘ThecityofHiroshima’ channel in YouTube. The full textof the Peace Declaration can be accessed via the City ofHiroshima homepage (‘Atomic Bombing/Peace’ →‘Peace Declaration, Protest Letters, etc’), and is available in ten languages (Japanese, Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Russianand Spanish).
(General Affairs Division)

Attendance at the 9th Executive
Conference of Mayors for Peace
and Opening Ceremony of A-Bomb
Exhibition
In November 2015, Mayors for Peace (President:
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui) held the 9th Executive
Conference of Mayors for Peace in Ypres, Belgium, oneof the Mayors for Peace Vice-President cities. Mayor
Matsui took the opportunity of being in Europe to also
attend the opening ceremony of an A-bomb exhibition at
the United Nations Office at Vienna, and also visited
Manchester and London in the United Kingdom to attend related events and hold discussions with the mayors
and others.
Mayor Matsui’s main engagements
November 11
Prior to the Executive Conference, Mayor Matsui
met with the Deputy Mayor of Ypres Mr. Jef Verschoore.
He presented Deputy Mayor Verschoore with an explanatory plaque for a sapling of the gingko tree that survived the atomic bombing, which were donated to Ypres
in 2012, and said that he would like the people of thecity to share Hiroshima’s desire for peace.

Memorial Gathering for Nagasaki
Atomic Bomb Victims

November 12 and 13
The 9 th Mayors for Peace Executive Conference was held,
attended by 11
executive cities.
Participants discussed future initiatives.
th
On the first 9 Executive Conference of Mayors for Peaceday, attendees discussed the 2020 Vision, the action
guidelines to demand the abolishment of nuclear weapons by 2020. One of the objectives listed in the 2020
Vision is the conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention by 2015. The term ‘by 2015’ was deleted, and thedecision was made to continue to pursue this objective.
Additionally, the following items (and others) were decided as the subject of concentrated efforts moving forward: (1) activities to educate people on the humanitarian impact and risk of nuclear weapons (2) requests topolicymakers in each nation to visit Hiroshima andNagasaki (3) the increase of Mayors for Peace member
cities to 10,000 cities by 2020 (4) pass on the facts ofthe damage from the bombing through youth exchange
activities (5) invite interns to the Hiroshima Secretariat.
In addition to activities aiming for the abolition of nuclear weapons, it was also decided toaddress urgent issues such as poverty, refugees
and climate change, in line with the regulations
in Article 3 of the Mayors for Peace Covenant. It
was confirmed that the next General Session will
be held in 2017 in Nagasaki, and the session after that will be brought forward by one year tobe held in 2020 in Hiroshima.
The Executive Conference closed on the second day

On August 9, 2016, the date that the atomic bomb was
dropped on Nagasaki, this Foundation holds theMemorial Gathering for Nagasaki Atomic Bomb
Victims, to express condolences from Hiroshima, which
was also hit by the bomb, for the deceased in Nagasaki,
and to renew the vow to achieve peace.
This year’s Memorial Gathering was held in the foyer on B1 floor of the east building of the Peace Memorial
Museum. There were around 50 people who participated, including hibakusha and visitors to the museumfrom Japan and overseas.
The ceremony
was opened witha speech by Mr.
Yasuyoshi Komizo,
the Chairpersonof this Foundation, followed bylive television
coverage of theNagasaki Peace
Memorial Cere- Opening Speech by Chairperson Komizo
mony. At 11:02am,
the time that the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, all attendees observed one minute of silent prayer.
This was followed by a speech by Mr. Kunihiko
Sakuma, Chairperson of the Hiroshima Prefectural
Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers’ Associations. The
gathering ended with a video of a Nagasaki atomic
bombing testimony by Ms. Tokuko Kimura, an atomic
bombing witness.
(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)
5

with the adoption of a Resolution that included a call for
all governments to participate in the United Nations
Open-Ended Working Group.
Following on from the Executive Conference, theGeneral Meeting of the 2020 Vision Campaign
Association was held. The secretariat for the Association
was set up in Ypres City in November 2007, and sincethen, Ypres had promoted the global roll-out of the campaign. However, with the move to establish regionalgroups centered around the leader cities in each regionof the world, it was decided to move the Association’s
secretariat to Hiroshima.

bate focused on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, including the Humanitarian Pledge. Mr. Kurz promisedthat the Austrian government would continue to work toachieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
Mayor Matsui then attended the opening ceremony
for an A-bomb exhibition being held at the United
Nations Office in Vienna. This exhibition follows on fromexhibitions held at the United Nations Headquarters in
New York and Europe. The venue was filled with over
100 visitors and media, indicating the high level of interest in the exhibition. In his speech, Mayor Matsui said
that he would like many national governments and leaders of international bodies to see the displays, and appealed for them to make the utmost effort to eliminate
nuclear weapons, the ultimate evil, from the earth.

November 14
Mayor Matsui visited Manchester City, which is implementing proactive activities as a Mayors for Peace
member city. He presented Mayor Paul Murphy with a
Leader City Certificate, and asked him to implement
even stronger initiatives in the United Kingdom andIreland.
Following this, Mayor Matsui attended a commemorative event for Project G that is being implemented byManchester. In this project, a contest among elementary
schools on art and poetry on the topic of peace is held,with the top schools awarded gingko tree seedlings fromthe Hiroshima tree that survived the atomic bombing sothat they can grow the tree themselves. The aim of the
project is to develop an awareness of peace among theyoung generation.

Future activities of Mayors for Peace
Through the discussions and the debate at the
Executive Conference this time, we could confirm thatmoves to form regional groups based on initiatives byleader cities are making definite progress, and see thatfurther moves to revitalize the activities in the future aretaking shape. We will forge even closer ties with leader
cities, and make the most of the Mayors for Peace network, to implement activities to accelerate moves towards the conclusion of the nuclear weapons convention, as well as proactively implementing initiatives tospread and communicate the truth of the atomic bombing and the message of the hibakusha.
(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

November 16
In a conference room at the House of Lords in the
Palace of Westminster, the Mayor made a presentationon the state of Hiroshima before and after the atomic
bombing, the path to recovery, and the activities of the
Mayors for Peace, in front of an audience of around 50
people, including members of both houses of parliamentand mayors from Mayors for Peace member cities in the
United Kingdom. There was an active discussion after
the presentation.
The Mayor then visited Mr. Edward Lister, Deputy
Mayor of London, explained the Mayors for Peace activities, and stated that he would like to work together tothink about how to achieve a peaceful world that is notdependent on nuclear weapons, through dialogue withthe people of the United Kingdom, which is a nuclear
weapon state. Deputy Mayor Lister said that London
would cooperate in the Mayors for Peace activities.
A terrorist attack occurred on November 13, 2015, inParis, and in light of this, a statement signed by the 26
Mayors for Peace executive cities was sent to all member cities, together with a request to widely publicize thestatement to national governments and the public in therespective countries.

5th Japanese Member Cities Meetingof Mayors for Peace and Submissionof a Letter of Request to the Japanese
Government Regarding a Nuclear
Weapons Convention
On November 9 and 10, 2015, the 5th Japanese Member
Cities Meeting of Mayors for Peace was held in
Hiroshima City.
This is a meeting that is held once a year to enhance
Mayors for Peace activities in Japan. This time, 126
people (including 39 heads) from 86 municipalities attended.
OpeningFirstly, Mayors for Peace President, Hiroshima
Mayor Kazumi Matsui, made a speech to open the meeting, in which he stated “I believe that it is important thateach member city moves ahead with initiatives to create
global momentum for the abolition of nuclear weapons.”
He also made special mention of the promotion of youth
exchange activities, and called for member cities to cooperate fully in such activities, as a top priority matterfor the Japanese Member Cities Meeting.

November 17
Mayor Matsui visited Mr. Franz Prokop, the District
Director of the 16th District of the city of Vienna. He waswelcomed by the Mr. Prokop and a residents’ exchangegroup in front of a peace monument that had been built
using stones that survived the atomic bombing, donatedby the City of Hiroshima.
Next, the Mayor had a meeting with Mr. SebastianKurz, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs. He expressed his gratitude for Austria taking the lead in de-

Program to communicate the reality of theatomic bombing
This was followed by a screening of the documentary film Hiroshima no Kioku (Memories of Hiroshima),
6

Request to the Japanese government to call for the promotion of actions to aid in the early realization of a
nuclear weapons convention.
The secretariat then provided an explanation on the
6th Japanese Member Cities Meeting. This was followed by a free discussion by participants, during
which there were many constructive opinions on future activities.
The meeting closed with the adoption of theSummary document, which included an overview ofthe meeting.

and an A-bomb
testimony by Ms.
Yoshiko Kajimoto.
The attendees thenwent to the Peace
Memorial Park to
pay their respects
and lay flowers at
the Cenotaph for
A-bomb Victims, Participants paying respects and laying
flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Vicas well as taking tims
a tour of the Peace
Memorial Museum.

Submission of Letter of Request to Japanese
Government
Based on thedecision made at
the meeting, on
December 24,
2015, Mayor
Matsui and Mr.
Kazuya Okubo,
Director of theNagasaki Atomic
Bomb Museum From the left: Foreign Minister Kishida,a n d t h e P e a c e Hiroshima Mayor Matsui
Promotion Office of the City of Nagasaki, visited theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, and presented the Ministerof Foreign Affairs Mr. Fumio Kishida with a Letter ofRequest to the Japanese government to call for the promotion of actions to aid in the early realization of a nuclear weapons convention.
Minister Kishida, receiving the document, said “I sincerely accept the wish of Mayors for Peace, Hiroshima,
and Nagasaki. Nuclear disarmament can proceed only if
nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon stateswork together. As the only country to have ever sufferedatomic bombings, Japan would like to play a leadingrole in providing a bridge between countries with nuclear weapons and those without them.”(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

Session I (Presentation on peace activities in
Hiroshima City)
Next were presentations by various groups inHiroshima city that conduct peace-related activities, on
their day-to-day activities. The groups that gave presentations were Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High school,
Honkawa Omotenashi group, the Chugoku Shimbun
Newspaper Junior Writers, and Associate Professor
Atsuko Morikawa of Hijiyama University.
Session II (Reports on examples of peacerelated activities)
The first item on the program for the 2nd day was reports from Mayor Kobayashi of Kodaira City in Tokyo
and Mayor Muroto of Motosugun Kitagata Town in
Gunma Prefecture, on examples of peace-related activities being conducted in their respective municipalities.
These reports helped to contribute to future activities bymember cities.
Session III (Deliberation on agenda items,
Discussion, etc), Session IV (Adoption of
meeting summary document) and Closing
Next, Mayor Matsui fulfilled his duties as chairperson of the meeting to facilitate the deliberation on theagenda items.

Participation in the Manhattan
Project National Historical Park
Scholars’ ForumOn November 9 and 10, 2015, the Manhattan Project
National Historical Park Scholars’ Forum was held in
Washington DC by the National Park Service, US
Department of the Interior. From Japan, Mr. Yasuyoshi
Komizo, the Chairperson of this Foundation and Dr.
Masao Tomonaga, Honorary Director of the Japanese
Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital, attended.
The aim of this forum was to gather together experts
and hold discussions on topics that should be included
in and can be reference material for the development of
the commentary plan for the Manhattan Project National
Historical Park that is being planned. The park will include facilities related to the Manhattan Project that wasused to develop the atomic bomb by America during
World War II.
At the start of the forum, Mr. Komizo communicatedthe thoughts of a city that has been bombed by the atomic bomb regarding the commentary plan for the park.

Hiroshima Mayor Matsui (left) and Nagasaki Mayor Taue (right) at
the 5th Japanese Member Cities Meeting of Mayors for Peace

The first item to be deliberated was new and extended activities in the Mayors for Peace Action Plan from2013 – 2017. The items agreed upon were: the promotion of youth exchange activities between member cities, activities to educate people on the reality of theatomic bombing and the risk of nuclear weapons, andthe enhancement of petitioning activities aiming to bring
the number of member cities to 10,000 by 2020.
Agreement was also reached on submitting a Letter of7took an interest in the initiative, which was explained by
Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, the Chairperson of this Foundation, and as a result the session took place. One of thepeople in the audience commented “Listening to the vivid testimony of the bombing I could picture the horrible
scenes. It was a moving experience.” In the question andanswer session after the testimony, there were comments
and questions such as “Don’t you feel hatred towards
the United States?”, showing the high level of interest of
the participants. It was a meaningful session.
In August, another testimony was held for visitors to
the National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, theUnited States, talking about the damage from the bombing and life for a survivor after that.
In September, a testimony was held for around 30 junior and senior high school students in Haridwar
District, Uttarakhand State in India. The students listened attentively. After the testimony, the students expressed their gratitude, and performed a song praying
for peace.
In January 2016, a testimony was given for around80 high school students in Zelenogorsk, Russia, and students commented that it helped them to understand thesituation of damage from the atomic bombing.
The Museum will continue to use various tools suchas the online conference system to proactively communicate the true damage from the atomic bombing to people in Japan and overseas.
(Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)

Manhattan Project National Historical Park Scholars’ Forum

Specifically, he requested that the displays are based on
fact, to fairly and justly communicate the backgroundleading up to the development and dropping of theatomic bomb, and that they also communicate the awful
impact that the dropping of the bomb had on people andtheir lives. He also asked that the displays are focusedon the future, and toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. He requested that opinions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki be included in future studies on the content of thedisplays, and he said that if the displays are based on theintentions of the cities that have been subject to theatomic bomb, then he is prepared to cooperate, such as
by loaning A-bomb artifacts. Dr. Tomonaga provided an
explanation of the burns and wounds inflicted by thebomb from a medical perspective, and the damage to
people’s health caused by radiation.
In the discussion that followed, they communicatedthe wishes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for each of therespective display themes, as described above, and received wide support for their requests. As a result, in thesorting of the main themes for the displays, the items
based on Mr. Komizo’s proposal were selected: thebackground leading up to the bombing, the impact of thebombing, and peace.
(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

Attendance at UN Open-Ended
Working Group Taking Forward
Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament
Negotiations
At the United Nations General Assembly in December
2015, it was decided to establish the UN Open-ended
Working Group Taking Forward Multilateral Nuclear
Disarmament Negotiations (OEWG). The aim of thegroup is to discuss legal measures among all member
nations, including nuclear weapon states.
Sessions of OEWG were held in February and May,
2016, at the United Nations office in Geneva,
Switzerland. Mayors for Peace participated as membersof civic society in both session.

A-Bomb Survivor Testimonies via
an Online Conference System
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum provides A-bomb
Survivor Testimonies via an Online Conference System
to broadly communicate the true damage from thebombing, and develop global momentum for the abolition of nuclear weapons. In fiscal year 2015, four testimonies were provided to four nuclear weapon states.
Firstly in July, the Museum linked with the British
Parliament committee room in London, to provide anhour-long A-bomb survivor testimony to approximately
80 people, including membersof the House ofLords, House ofCommons, andothers working
in Parliament.
The session wasorganized by amember of the An A-bomb survivor giving her testimony to
British Parlia- British Parliament committee room
ment who visited Hiroshima in April 2015. The member

February Session
Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, Secretary-General of Mayors
for Peace (and Chairperson of this Foundation) attended
the meeting, and as the representative of Mayors for
Peace, strongly appealed for understanding of the needfor legal prohibition of nuclear weapons. He also met
and held discussions with national representatives attending the OEWG and people from NGOs and the UN.
February 21
Mr. Komizo participated a meeting held by peaceNGOs, and asked for cooperation from civic society inthe abolition of nuclear weapons.
February 22
Prior to the opening of the OEWG, Mr. Komizo met
8General of Mayors for Peace, and called for policymakers to exert their leadership for the further accelerationof efforts for the legal prohibition of nuclear weapons.
He also called for world leaders to visit Hiroshima andNagasaki.
Mayor Matsui presented to the United Nations a sapling of a tree that survived the atomic bombing, andcommunicated the message of Hiroshima, a wish for apeaceful world without nuclear weapons. He also held
discussions with members of national governments andNGOs.

with Mr. Thani Thongphakdi (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations
Office and other International Organizations in Geneva),
who served as the Chair of the OEWG, and presented
him with an open letter from Mayors for Peace callingfor nations to participate proactively in the OEWG discussions and start constructive deliberations.
Next, Mr. Komizo
gave a speech at the
opening session of
the OEWG. In the
speech, he reconfirmed his support
for discussions on a
nuclear weapons
convention, and expressed his hope that Chairperson Komizo makes a speech as
the Secretary-General of Mayors for Peacet h e d i s c u s s i o n s on
the first day of the OEWG February
would result in the Session.
identification of effective legal measures to achieve a world free of nuclear
weapons, based on the participants’ awareness of the importance of making progress on nuclear disarmament.
In addition to his speech, Mr. Komizo met with national government representatives and made requests toproactively participate in the discussions and hold constructive deliberations. There was also a discussion withmembers of NGOs on enhancing connections with thoseorganizations.

May 1
Mayor Matsui attended a conference held by peaceNGOs, and called for cooperation to achieve a peacefulworld free of nuclear weapons. He also met with peace
ambassadors Ms. Setsuko Thurlow and Dr. Kathleen
Sullivan, who were attending the conference.
May 2
Prior to the start of the OEWG session, there was aceremony to present the sapling of a tree that survived
the atomic bombing in Hiroshima to Michael Moller,
Director-General of the United Nations office in Geneva. The aim was to communicate to the attendees themessage of Hiroshima to create a peaceful world without nuclear weapons, and to heighten awareness of theneed to abolish nuclear weapons. With around 60 people
in attendance, including those from the UN, national
governments and NGOs, Mr. Moller said that as the sapling grows at the UN Geneva office, it will remind people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and will become a symbol of hope for a world without nuclear weapons.
At the OEWG
session, Mayor Matsui gave a speech as
representative ofMayors for Peace.
He spoke about how
US Secretary ofState Mr. Kelly had
seen the actual damage from the atomic Mayor Matsui makes a speech as thebombing when he president of Mayors for Peace on the firstday of the OEWG May Session.
was in Hiroshima in
April for the G7 Hiroshima Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and had said “Thishas reminded me of our responsibility to make efforts tobuild a peaceful world with no nuclear weapons.” Mayor Matsui stated that he wants to fully support such intentions together with a wide range of partners in civic
society. He also called for the world’s policymakers to
exercise decisive leadership to change the mindset of
nuclear deterrence, and to work together under a sharedawareness that we all belong to the same human family
to conclude a nuclear weapons convention. In addition,
he called on them to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki sothat they can further strengthen their resolve.

February 23
Besides attending the OEWG session, Mr. Komizo
also visited the permanent A-bomb Exhibition set up at
the United Nations office in Geneva by Hiroshima City,
Nagasaki City and the UN, and met with government officials.
February 24
Mr. Komizo attended the OEWG session and made aspeech as representative of Mayors for Peace. In his
speech, he called strongly for all signatories, including
non-nuclear weapon states, to sincerely fulfill their obligations to negotiate on nuclear disarmament based on
Article 6 of the NPT. He also called on the policymakersof the world to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as an initiative to build peace and security, as a way to exercise
their political leadership on disarmament, and as a way
to understand the truth of the inhumane damage causedby the atomic bombing.
Mr. Komizo also held discussions with members of
the UN on connections between the UN and Mayors for
Peace.
February 25
In addition to attending the OEWG session, Mr.
Komizo presented the Chair Mr. Thongphakdi with thejoint statement issued in Hiroshima On August 6, 2015,
by Mayors for Peace, Parliamentarians for Nuclear NonProliferation and Disarmament, and World Religions for
Peace.

May 3
There was a meeting with members of peace NGOs,
to explain the Mayors for Peace activity policy and further strengthen mutual connections.

May Session
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, President ofMayors for Peace (and President of this Foundation), attended the OEWG together with Mr. Komizo, Secretary9

cluding messages such as “We should never again go to
war. Let us pray for world peace”, and “We should abolish nuclear weapons”.
During the exhibition period the British Consul toJapan and consulate directors from the Korean,
Taiwanese and Vietnamese consulates in Japan also visited the exhibition, leaving messages there, and threehigh officials from the EU delegation also visited, listening intently to the staff’s explanations of the panels andarticles of the deceased, and also sometimes asking
questions.
On the28 th , in theconference
room there
was an atomic bombing
testimony by
M r. S a d a o
Yamamoto,an A-bomb Atomic bombing testimony by Mr. Sadao Yamamoto
witness for
the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, and atomic
bombing testimony recitals by the Nagasaki National
Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims volunteers, Ms. Hisako Otsuka and Ms. Naomi Harao.
This exhibition in Ise, far away from Hiroshima andNagasaki, communicated the truth of the damage of theatomic bombing, and therefore represented one step forward for world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
(Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)

May 4
Mayor Matsui met with Mr. Moller, the DirectorGeneral of the United Nations office in Geneva, and presented him with a request to United Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon asking for the promotion toachieve the prompt conclusion of a nuclear weapons
convention, in which Mayor Matsui asked that the participating national governments hold realistic and productive discussions on achieving the common goal ofabolishing nuclear weapons, without adopting a structure of opposition between nuclear weapon states andnon-nuclear weapon states. Based on that, Mayor Matsui
also asked the UN to exercise further leadership andprovide support for policymakers to visit Hiroshima andNagasaki, with a view to realizing the 5 items for nuclear disarmament proposed by the UN Secretary-Generalin 2008.
Mayor Matsui also met with the chairperson of the
OEWG Mr. Thongphakdi, and requested that he runs thesessions to ensure that the discussions on legal measures
are concrete and realistic. He also explained how important it is for policymakers to visit Hiroshima andNagasaki to understand the truth of the atomic bombing
and the earnest wishes of hibakusha that “no one elseshall ever again suffer as we have.”(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-Bomb
Exhibition Held in Ise CityAt the same time as G7 Ise-Shima Summit was held in
Mie Prefecture in Japan on May 26-27, 2016, theHiroshima and Nagasaki A-Bomb Exhibition was also
held from May 22-29 at Iseshi Kanko Bunka Kaikan(Ise City Tourism and Culture Hall). There were 3,290
visitors to the exhibition.
On the 22nd was the opening ceremony, attended by themayors of Hiroshima City and Nagasaki City, Mie Prefectural Governor, the mayor of Ise City, as well as theprefectural assembly chairperson and representatives of
the children of Ise City.

Aiming to Contribute to
Regional Revitalization andInternationalization in Chugoku
region - JICA Chugoku

by Shuichi Ikeda
Director General, Chugoku
International Center, Japan
International Cooperation
Agency (JICA)

1. Developing countries requiring know-how
from regions in Japan
I used to work in the Kingdom of Thailand for approximately three years until March 2016. Both the population and the economy of Thailand are heavily concentrated in the metropolitan area of Bangkok, and theeconomic disparity between the capital area and the other regional areas is more increasing. In terms of the GDP
per capita of the different regions, Bangkok is over
US$14,000, and has already surpassed the economic
level of developing countries and is close to the level ofdeveloped countries. However, in regional areas otherthan Bangkok and its surrounding industrial areas, theaverage regional GDP per capita is only around
US$3,000. Thailand is said to have already reached thelevel of medium-developed country, but this is only be-

Speech by children’s representatives at the opening ceremony

At the A-Bomb Exhibition were displays of A-bomb
artifacts from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, photo panels
communicating the actual damage from the bombings,
and A-bomb pictures drawn by A-bomb survivors. At
the venue were also screenings of DVDs on the topics ofthe atomic bomb and peace, and a message section was
also set up on the theme of “Let’s all grow the flower ofpeace”. There were many messages written there, in10

cause the Bangkok metropolitan area brings up the Thai
average overall. It means that most of the regional areasin Thailand are still at the level of developing countries.
This situation is not unique to Thailand – it is a problem
that is common to many developing countries. Even if
the metropolitan area’s economy is developing well,with the sudden urbanization the urban environment deteriorates and there is a gap between the rich and thepoor, and in most rural areas there is an acceleration of
depopulation, reduced regional activity, and increase regional disparities. These increased regional disparities
lead to social instability. In addition to this, in Thailand
there is also a declining birthrate and aging population,and the country has been already facing issues for developed countries even before it has moved on from thestatus of developing country.
In Japan too, the concentration of power and population in Tokyo, poor performance of regional economies
and outflow of population from regional areas have beenmajor issues for many years. Additionally, another blow
to the country is the declining birthrate, aging population and declining population of Japan overall. On theother hand, Japan has for a long time had a great diversity in its regions, and each region had its own culture
and wisdom. Currently, as well as encouraging regional
revitalization, each region is reviewing the local resources, and implementing a variety of different initiatives.
Japan is a developed country facing many new challenges that it must address head on, and I believe that the experiences and practices of regions in Japan for suchchallenges , including failures or lessons learnt, are fullof insight that can be provided to the people in developing countries which will be one day also facing the similar challenges.

their own initiative. They have various aims in doing so:
to revitalize the region through international cooperationand exchange activities, for instance, or to help local
companies do business overseas. Regional SMEs also
see that developing countries, expected to grow in the
future, are where the real business opportunities are, andare now more proactively considering moving into developing countries.
3. Linking the knowledge of the Chugoku region
with the needs of developing countries
At JICA Chugoku International Center, we would
like to play the role of a bridge, to take the experienceand know-how on social and economic developmentthat has been developed throughout the Chugoku region,
as well as outstanding technologies and business models
that are socially useful, and effectively utilize them forthe development issues being faced by developing nations. We would also like to provide support for
Chugoku region municipalities, research and education
institutes, private companies and NGOs, in their efforts
to implement region-based international cooperation or
moves to do business overseas. By doing so, we believethat as a result we will be able to make a contribution totransmitting the strengths and appeal of the Chugoku region to the rest of the world, revitalizing regions throughinternational cooperation, and overseas business expansion in the Chugoku region.
To realize sustainable social and economic development in developing countries, development assistanceby government to government (GtoG) is not enough. For
example, even if assistance is provided to universities
and facilities are built, education and research materials
are upgraded, teachers’ skill level is raised and the educational content is improved, there has to be a wide
range of places for the students educated at those universities to work after they graduate. Even if economic
infrastructure is developed through financial cooperation, if there are no private companies that can energetically implement economic activities, sustainable economic development will be impossible. Even if hospitals
are constructed and medical staff are trained, private
pharmacies are also required to provide medicines topeople on a continuous basis, and private companies areneeded to maintain and refill medical supplies andequipment. Private businesses entry into hospital management itself is likely to be important for improving
the quality of medical services. Even if support is given
for decentralization and enhancement of the administrative capabilities of the regions, if that region’s economic
activities cannot be promoted, then it will impossible torevitalize the region. For a country’s sustainable socialand economic development, the development of the private sector is indispensable. However, it is not possible
to achieve this using only the funds and human resources available in developing countries, and therefore essential to secure investment, human resources, and technology from overseas private sector. In addition to cooperation between governments, JICA focuses on the factthat there are many technologies and business ideas inJapanese SMEs that can make great contributions to resolving the issues faced by developing countries, and in2012 we initiated a new program to help Japanese SMEs
move into overseas markets. In the Chugoku region, we
have already provided or are in the process of providing

2. D irect international cooperation from regions,and overseas expansion of SMEs
Up until the 1990s, when the amount of Official
Development Assistance (ODA) by the Japanese government was the largest in the world and Japan was
known as the top donor, the ratio of ODA in the overseas funds going to developing countries was large, andthe majority of Japanese people working in developing
countries were involved in ODA-related activities. Now,
however, the “top billing” for social and economic development in developing countries has clearly shifted toinvestment funds and human resources from overseas
private corporations. The role of ODA has changed to acatalyst-type role of stimulating and supporting privatesector activities. In line with this transformation, themain actors in ODA are not only limited among the traditional groups such as central government agencies, national research institutes, national universities, development consultants, major trading companies, major construction companies, internationally active NGOs, andyoung people with a strong interest in developing nations, but also other players in the regions has become
as more important actors. In the past, technical experts
from municipalities and regional Small & Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) did sometimes participate in ODA
projects, and this was usually because they were requested to do so by central government or were subcontracted by big companies. However, now people and organizations in regions are moving more proactively to
strategically implement international cooperation on
11

support for 29 proposals from 23 SMEs. JICA has overseas offices in 92 countries, and possesses strong andwide range connection with national government organizations, research institutes, universities and regional organizations. We also have a wide range of information
related to the situation and issues in each country. If we
can effectively use JICA’s overseas network and information, we should be able to provide developing countries with effective technology from Japanese companies, and Japanese companies with business opportunities in overseas markets. In this way, I believe we canachieve a win-win situation.
In addition to the above mentioned program to provide support to SMEs to move overseas, we are focusing
even more strongly on and strategically pursuing connections with the Chugoku region for the traditional
JICA international cooperation scheme of grass-roots
technical cooperation, technical training programs andoverseas volunteer dispatch programs. By doing so, I
believe that we will be able to more effectively provide
developing countries with knowledge from the region,and contribute to regional revitalization in the Chugoku
area. For example, waste management. In Japan, the responsibilities of the administrative bodies, people, andprivate businesses on waste management are clearlystipulated based on the Waste Disposal and Public
Cleansing Law, and the whole region must work together to ensure that such responsibilities are appropriately
fulfilled. Waste management is currently an issue in many urban areas in developing countries. The Hiroshima
Environment Business Promotion Meeting, organized
mainly by the Commercial and Industrial Labor Bureauof Hiroshima Prefecture government, has been utilizing
JICA’s grass-roots technical cooperation scheme, andfrom January 2016 started the General Waste
Management Improvement Project in Bogor City,
Indonesia. This is planned to be a three-year project,providing support for the establishment of a system forseparate collection, reduce and recycle of general waste
in Bogor City. We can truly say that the knowledge ofthe Hiroshima Prefecture is being utilized in projects
like this. Some companies in Hiroshima that possess excellent technologies and products related to waste management are also participating in this project, and the
project is also an opportunity to show the excellence of
their technologies to the people of Indonesia. Therefore
there is potential that this could contribute to such companies starting business in Indonesia. Another example
is Ama Town, in Oki-gun, Shimane Prefecture. There,
the town is implementing a unique initiative to revitalize
the town, where they have issued a statement, “Nai mono ha nai.” － It means “It’s OK that we have all that
we need.” This initiative in Ama Town and its results todate, their current efforts, adjustments and future plans
all represent a treasure house of knowledge. When considering regional development in many of the rural areas, and remote regions and islands in developing countries, such information should prove extremely useful.
In 2016, JICA Chugoku will be working together withAma Town to start a training program for administrative
officers in developing countries.
4. Collaboration with Hiroshima’s peace promotion
initiatives and to share Hiroshima’s experienceof reconstruction to the people of the worldSince 2004, JICA overseas volunteers from
Hiroshima Prefecture have been actively holding atomic
bomb exhibitions in the countries they are dispatched to.
As of March 2016, they had planned and held 145 exhibitions in 65 countries, offering the people in thosecountries a very eye-opening experience and also a wonderful opportunity to think about peace and war.
At JICA Chugoku International Center, we hold ahalf-day training session for training participants fromdeveloping countries who are staying in the Center’s accommodation facilities soon after they have arrived inJapan, with the title of Hiroshima Peace Training. In the
training, participants take a tour of the Peace Memorial
Museum, listen to a lecture entitled The History ofHiroshima City for Peace, and go to Peace Memorial
Park. Every year, approximately more than 300 trainees
had participated in this program. In questionnaire results, 98% of trainees said that they understood the importance of peace, and 84% said that they understood itvery well. There were also many moving comments by
the participants on peace and recovery after the atomic
bombing.
“I greatly admire the people who poured their efforts
into rebuilding Hiroshima, rather than revenge.”“I too want to become an ambassador for world
peace.”“Hiroshima’s peace project is truly astonishing.”“I hope that the people of Hiroshima will continue totransmit the message of peace to the world.”“Seeing what happened to Hiroshima made me verysad. But I believe that what happened here will become
the driver for continued world peace.”(Article contributed June 2016)
ProfileShuichi Ikeda
Graduated from Graduate School of Environment Science (Msc.) of
Tsukuba University in 1985, and joined JICA in the same year. Since
then, has worked at JICA headquarters in charge of natural environment conservation, higher education and international emergency aid.
Worked overseas for a total of 13 years. After working in Burma (currently Myanmar), the United States and Laos, served as Chief
Representative of JICA Thailand office from 2013 to 2016. Assumed
current post from April 2016.

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