Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation

December 2019PEACE
CULTURE

vol.1 No.82 (semiannual)achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.
Mayor Matsui also made a strong request to theJapanese government, as the only government of a country to experience the nuclear weapon attack during war.
He asked the government to seriously address the wishes of the hibakusha, who are asking that they sign andratify the TPNW. He asked that they exercise their leadership to make further progress on realizing a world freeof nuclear weapons. He demanded that they expand the“black rain areas”, and strengthen support policies forthe hibakusha, whose average age is now over 82, andfor the many other people who are suffering in various
different ways in daily life, both physically and emotionally, as a result of radiation.

The 74th Peace Memorial Ceremony
since the Atomic Bombing
On August 6, for the 74th time since the atomic bombing,
the City of Hiroshima held the Peace Memorial
Ceremony in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Approximately 50,000 people attended, including
A-bomb survivors, the hibakusha, and bereaved families, and they prayed for the repose of souls of the victims of the A-bomb and for perpetual world peace.
The ceremony started at 8am. First Hiroshima Mayor
Kazumi Matsui and two representatives of the bereaved
families dedicated three volumes of the Register of theNames of the Fallen Atomic Bomb Victims to the shrinein the Memorial Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb
Victims. Over the past year, 5,068 people’s deaths had
been confirmed and their names were recorded in theRegister. This brings the total number of names recorded in the Register to 319,186 people, in 117 volumes.
This was followed by an address by Mr. Haruo
Yamada, chairperson of Hiroshima City Council, and a
dedication of flowers by various representatives. At
8:15am, the time that the A-bomb was dropped, Ms.
Akiko Mende, the representative of the bereaved families, and Aito Masakado, the children’s representative,
rang the Peace Bell, and all participants observed a minute of silent prayer.
Mayor Matsui then read out the Peace Declaration.
In the Declaration, the Mayor said that due to recent
global circumstances the movement to abolish nuclear
weapons is now at a standstill. He said that under suchcircumstances, there is a need to appeal in particular to
the young people who have never known war but will be
future leaders, to aim for the ideal world where there is
no war, for the survival of humanity. To this end, theMayor spoke about the pleas and the experience of the
hibakusha on August 6, 1945. He stated that it is important for the young people, our future leaders, to see theatomic bombing and war not simply as something that
happened in the past. They need to internalize the voices
and efforts of the hibakusha and others aiming to createa peaceful world, and move steadily forward.
The Mayor also called for the world’s leaders to visit
the sites hit by the atomic bomb, listen to the voices of
the hibakusha, and visit the Peace Memorial Museum
and Peace Memorial Hall so that they can come face toface with the individuals who lost their lives in thebombing and their bereaved families. He asked leaders
to fulfill their obligation to negotiate on nuclear disarmament in good faith, as stipulated in Article VI of theTreaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons(NPT), and to respond to the wish of civil society for entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons (TPNW), which would be a step on the way to

Mayor Matsui reading out the Peace Declaration

After the Peace Declaration, the Children’s
Representatives Syuka Kaneda and Tadahiro Ishibashi
read out the Commitment to Peace. They spoke of learning about the tragic past of their beloved city ofHiroshima, and stated that to build a future where there
are no more wars, “We shall be considerate of one another and openly share our feelings. We shall continue
to learn of our own volition. With our hearts and thehearts of the hibakusha as one, we shall bring the idealsof peace to the world.”
The ceremony was attended by representatives of bereaved families from 36 prefectures, as well as ambassadors and representatives from 89 countries and theEuropean Union (EU), including the nuclear weapon
states of the U.S., England, France and Russia.
The ceremony was streamed live online. The videoof the ceremony can be seen on the YouTube,
ThecityofHiroshima channel. The full text of the Peace
Declaration and the Commitment to Peace that wereread out at the ceremony can be found on the City ofHiroshima homepage (http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/).
The Peace Declaration is available in ten languages(Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Korean,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Japanese).
(General Affairs Division)
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Minister’s Secretariat; Director of Health and Welfare
D i v i s i o n , M i n i s t e r ’s S e c r e t a r i a t ; A m b a s s a d o r
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the
Republic of Bulgaria. Retired August, 2016.

Memorial Gathering for Nagasaki
Atomic Bomb Victims
On August 9, the date that the atomic bomb was droppedon Nagasaki, this Foundation holds the Memorial
Gathering for Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Victims, to express condolences from Hiroshima, which was also hit
by the A-bomb, for the deceased in Nagasaki, and to renew our vow to achieve peace. The gathering has been
held every year since 2003.
2019 Memorial Gathering was held in the east building of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. There
were around 100 people who participated, including
hibakusha and visitors to the museum from Japan andoverseas.
The ceremony was opened with a speech by Mr.
Takashi Koizumi, the Chairperson of this Foundation,
followed by live television coverage of the Nagasaki
Peace Memorial Ceremony. At 11:02am, the time thatthe atomic bomb was exploded over the city, all attendees observed one minute of silent prayer.
This was followed by a speech by Mr. Toshiyuki
Mimaki, Chairperson of the Hiroshima Prefectural
Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers’ Associations. The
gathering ended
with a performance of a picture-story show
depicting the experience of Mr.
Katsuji Yoshida,
who survived
the bombing ofNagasaki, by
Ms. Eri Makino Performance of picture-story show depicting
the experience of Mr. Katsuji Yoshida, afrom the Faculty hibakusha from Nagasaki
of International
Studies, Hiroshima City University.
(Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division)

Greetings from the new chairperson
Having been appointed as chairperson of the prosperous Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, succeeding
former chairperson Yasuyoshi Komizo, I am both honored and humbled by the great responsibility of becoming chairperson of the foundation that is the starting
point and the basis for the “Spirit of Hiroshima”, callingfor peace. Under the leadership of the Foundation’s
President, Mayor Matsui, I will do my utmost to fulfill
my duties.
The previous chairperson Mr. Komizo made a significant contribution to pushing forward the movement for
the abolition of nuclear weapons, in particular by communicating the wishes of the atomic bomb survivors, thehibakusha, to the world. His achievements are too numerous to mention here, including the expansion ofMayors for Peace membership and the establishment of
the Leader City system; preparations to achieve the visit
to Hiroshima by former US President Obama; and initiatives to ensure the effectiveness of the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted in
the United Nations. I will never reach Mr. Komizo’s levels of ability or expertise, but I hope to make use of myforty years’ experience and knowledge gained as a diplomat to contribute to promotion of the Foundation’s activities and further development by calling for peace
without nuclear weapons and further promoting cultural,
youth and international exchange activities.
Throughout my forty-year career as a diplomat, I
have keenly felt the importance of peace. When I was
appointed to Bulgaria, as the Secretary of the Embassyof Japan in 1980s, which was under the communist regime in Eastern Europe, I experienced the Cold War andthen the collapse of the communist system. Afterwards I
was posted to the United States, and the Gulf War brokeout soon after my arrival at Washington DC. When I
worked in newly-independent East Timor in the middleof the 2000s, political unrest flared up again, and I was
faced with a dangerous situation where gun battles
would break out near my home. After that, I supported,
as a Japanese diplomat, peace keeping operations (PKO)
run by the United Nations, and this made me keenly realize how difficult it is to rebuild peace once it has beenbroken, and how important it is for the global community to cooperate and work together to build peace.
Here I would like to touch upon my thoughts regarding Hiroshima and the abolition of nuclear weapons. In
2015, when I was working as ambassador to Bulgaria, I
gave a speech on the occasion of the HiroshimaNagasaki A-Bomb Exhibition Commemorating the 70th
Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing, which was held by
the Hiroshima-Bulgaria Association. In my speech, I
said “As the only country to have been the victim ofatomic bombs in war, Japanese people know better thananyone how cruel and inhumane nuclear weapons are.
No matter what the reason, these are weapons that humankind must never use again.” I then emphasized thepoint, quoting Mayor Matsui’s message: “I want to sharewith the people of Bulgaria Mayor Matsui’s message
wishing for a world without nuclear weapons or war.”
At the Commemorative Lecture Commemorating 70
Years Since the World War II that I gave at the Sofia
University, I also referred to the fact that it was 70 years
since the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima andFormer Ambassador to the Republicof Bulgaria Takashi Koizumi appointed
as this Foundation’s New Chairperson
On July 16, 2019, the former Ambas­
sador Extraordinary and Plenipoten­
tiary of Japan to the Republic of
Bulgaria, Takashi Koizumi, took officeas the 10th chairperson of this Foun­dation.
【Profile】
Takashi Koizumi
Born in 1951. Graduated from Facultyof Literature, Tokyo University of Education.
Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1976.
Appointed as First Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in
the United States; Deputy Director of Development
Cooperation Division, International Cooperation
Bureau; Deputy Director, Central and Eastern Europe
Division, Asian and European Affairs Bureau; Senior
Assistant Director, Non-Governmental Organizations
Cooperation Division, International Cooperation
Bureau; Senior Assistant Director, Inspection Division,
Minister’s Secretariat; Counselor, Embassy of Japan in
East Timor; Director of International Emergency
Assistance Division, International Cooperation Bureau;
Director of Local Partnership Cooperation Division,
2

She referred to the fact that next year is the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the NPT, and stated thatwhile the situation regarding nuclear weapons is a difficult one, sincere dialogue and negotiations by the participating nations are important to build an NPT frameworkthat brings balanced and stable peace.
After observing the conference proceedings, the delegation met with the Japanese Ambassador and Head of
the Delegation of Japan to the Conference on
Disarmament, Mr. Nobushige Takamizawa. Mayor
Matsui and Mayors for Peace Vice-President Tomihisa
Taue (Mayor of Nagasaki) told the Ambassador that they
had asked Mr. Syed Mohamad Hasrin Aidid, the Chairof the Preparatory Committee, to visit the areas affectedby the atomic bombing, and Mayors for Peace
Secretary-General Yasuyoshi Komizo (Chairperson ofthis Foundation) told him about moves being made forthe adoption of a resolution by state and city councils in
the United States for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
This was followed by a meeting with UK
Ambassador and Permanent Representative to theConference on Disarmament Mr. Aidan Liddle. Mayor
Matsui said that if other nations adopted the UK’s stanceof emphasizing transparency and dialogue then consensus could be reached, and he asked Mr. Liddle to takesteps to achieve nuclear disarmament by understanding
the strong wish of the hibakusha and leading other nuclear weapon states.

Nagasaki, and appealed for the importance of the abolition of nuclear weapons and of pacifism, which received
a great response. In this way, I have made efforts on successive opportunities to communicate to the people of
Bulgaria my thoughts on peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
I would like to say one last thing. I met an hibakusha
who lives near my house in Tokyo, and was 7 years old(in East Asian age reckoning) when the atomic bomb
was dropped, and lost ten relatives in an instant. He
graduated only from elementary school and was sent toan apprenticeship in Osaka, experienced unspeakable
hardship, and even today still suffers from the aftereffects of radiation by atomic bombing. I was moved bythat hibakusha’s strong pleas that “the atomic bomb isabsolute evil” and “No one else shall ever again suffer
as we have”, and that was one reason that I decided to
become involved in the work of this Foundation.
When we look at international affairs recently, wemust recognize that the situation surrounding abolitionof nuclear weapons, which was once showing positive
signs, is now looking increasingly bleak. Nonetheless, I
believe that we can definitely realize the abolition of nuclear weapons. The reason I believe is that since nuclear
weapons are made by human beings, there is no reason
that they cannot be abolished by human beings. No matter how difficult it may be, we can absolutely never giveup on realizing that. To do so, I believe that the most important thing is solidarity among civil societies―thevoices of people have the power to change an era. In thecurrent circumstances, it is clear that the roles of theHiroshima Peace Culture Foundation and Mayors for
Peace are becoming increasingly important. I myself
cannot do a lot, but my intention is to put all my efforts
into fulfilling my duties. I would like to appreciate andwelcome understanding, cooperation, and support by allof you.
(July 16, 2019)

April 30
Mayor Matsui met with Mr. Thomas Hajnoczi, thehead of the Disarmament Department in the Austrian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He talked about the importance of building momentum for the abolition of nuclear
weapons in civic society by increasing the number ofMayors for Peace member cities in nuclear weapon
states, and said that he would particularly like to workon raising the awareness of the young generation.
Next, the delegation visited the United Nations
International School together with the eight high school
students dispatched from Hiroshima who were participating in the petition drive calling for all states to join
the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons assoon as possible.
Mayor Matsui gave a talk for around 130 high school
2nd year students. He spoke about the reality of the damage from the bombing and the wishes of the hibakusha,
and stated that while it may be difficult to change themindset of prioritizing the pursuit of national profit andthe dependence on nuclear deterrence, it is important towork to ensure that more people in civic societies
around the world are aware of the fact that nuclear
weapons are not necessary to make the Earth a sustainable place where humankind can continue to live inpeace. After Mayor Matsui’s talk, the high school students dispatched from Hiroshima gave a presentation on
their own peace activities in front of around forty firstyear students from the UN International School, and also participated in an active group discussion on what
young people can do to build a peaceful world.
After that, the delegation and the dispatched highschool students visited Ms. Nakamitsu, and after Mayor
Matsui had explained the high school students’ activities, a representative of the high school students gave
Ms. Nakamitsu their petition with around 120,000 signatures. In the discussion that followed, Mayor Matsuistated that Mayors for Peace is an organization of mayors that has the responsibility of ensuring that citizens
can live safely with peace of mind, and for this reason

Mayors for Peace send delegation tocoincide with third preparatory committee
for the 2020 NPT Review Conference
In April and May, 2019, Mayors for Peace (President:
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui) sent a delegation to
New York at the time of the third preparatory committee
for the 2020 NPT Review Conference, held in New
York. The delegation communicated to United Nations
and government representatives the sincere wish of the
hibakusha for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and appealed for the importance of pushing for the executionof the duty to negotiate in good faith for nuclear disarmament and pursue the Treaty on the Prohibition of
Nuclear Weapons, as stipulated in Article 6 of the NPT.
The delegation also communicated that Mayors for
Peace, by expanding ties of solidarity with civic society,is working on creating an environment that supports theleadership of policymakers, to aim for the creation of aworld that is free of nuclear weapons. There were also
other activities, such as a youth forum organized by
Mayors for Peace and a lecture by Mayor Matsui at theUnited Nations International School.
April 29
Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-Generaland High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, madea speech at the opening of the preparatory committee.
3the organization will conduct activities on the theme of“a sustainable Earth”, to ensure that the experience ofHiroshima and Nagasaki is never repeated. He also explained that the Peace Memorial Museum is being renewed and its display content is being enhanced, tocommunicate the reality of the damage from the bombing. He said he would like to develop public opinion byhaving many people come to the Museum.
Next, Mayor Matsui met with New Zealand’s
Ambassador for Disarmament Ms. Dell Higgie. He requested that New Zealand continue to pursue ratificationof the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
with countries in the region, and increase the number ofratifying countries. Ambassador Higgie said that she
continues to have high expectations for activities in civic society.

Mayor Matsui also met with the members of the NY
Hiroshima-kai, an association of people with ties to
Hiroshima. He expressed his gratitude that the association is conducting activities to widely communicate the“Spirit of Hiroshima”, and stated that he is moving
ahead with city administration initiatives that place top
priority on enabling a peaceful life for the citizens. He
also said that he wants to pursue peace administration
initiatives that encourage citizens to think about what
each of them can do to continue to live peaceful lives.
May 2
The Mayors for Peace Youth Forum was held as aside event of the preparatory committee. The highschool students dispatched from Hiroshima, as well as
the Nagasaki Youth Delegation and young people fromaround the world who participate in the activities ofpeace NGOs, gave presentations on the content of theirrespective activities and their thoughts about peace.
There was also a discussion.

May 1
Mayor Matsui and Mayor Taue spoke at the NGO
session of the preparatory committee in their position as
mayors from areas hit by the atomic bomb. With an understanding of the sincere wishes of the hibakusha, theyexpressed their determination to create an environmentthat supports policymakers in their efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, together with their partners all over theworld. They also asked that all nations, including nuclear weapon states, engage in serious dialogue and combine their knowhow, and asked for initiatives bypolicymakers to shift from confrontational security tocollaborative security.

Together with participants in the Mayors for Peace Youth Forum

Next, Mayor Matsui met with Mayor Frank Cownie,
the mayor of Des Moines which is a Mayors for Peace
leader city, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mayor
Cownie explained that the United States Conference ofMayors has passed a resolution for thirteen consecutive
years assenting to the abolition of nuclear weapons andMayors for Peace activities. He also explained that a
resolution calling for the United States government tosign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
was adopted at the Washington D.C. city council, andsaid that he wants to work together and conduct joint activities with Mayors for Peace, an organization of mayors that protects people’s lives, calling for other cities tojoin.

Mayor Matsui (left) giving a speech at the NGO session
with Mayor Taue

Following on from this, the group met with Mr.
Daniel Hall, Director of PR Affairs at SGI (Soka Gakkai
International), which works together with PSR(Physicians for Social Responsibility). At the meeting,Mayor Matsui said that Mayors for Peace would like tobuild public opinion to lobby governments for disarmament by increasing the number of member cities in nuclear weapon states, and he requested that Mr. Hall
provide support in recruiting the US capital, Washington
D.C., to become a member.
Next was a meeting with the chair of the preparatorycommittee, Mr. Syed. Mr. Syed said that he would liketo develop a recommendation to reach a consensus forthe 2020 NPT Review Conference. He also stated that
he would like to obtain the support of civic society, inparticular young people, on the promotion of nuclear
disarmament, and that he has high expectations for therole that civic society will play in the development ofpublic opinion. Mayor Matsui explained that he places
great importance on the wishes of the hibakusha, talks
directly with the people, and conducts activities to leavea sustainable Earth for the next generation. He said thatleading up to next year, he hopes that nations will makedecisions based on consideration of other countries, andthat the conference will be an amalgamation of harmonized content that takes a broad perspective.

May 3
A discussion session for Mayors for Peace executive
cities was held. In addition to the five executive citymembers that attended, another city participated via
Skype. Each city gave a presentation on its activities on
the theme of “Creating safe cities, full of vitality”, which
is one of the goals of Mayors for Peace. Mayor Matsuistated that the important point is to think about how tomake the places that our citizens live in safe and secure.
He said that he wants the member cities to continue
sharing their various initiatives with respect for different
values, aiming for a world without nuclear weapons.
Mayor Matsui next attended the Disruptor Awards
ceremony. This is an award in which the US Disruptor
Fund recognizes individuals or organizations that are
working towards the resolution of social issues. The
Hersey Prize, established in 2018 to recognize particular
contributions in the field of the abolition of nuclear
weapons and world peace, was awarded to Mayors for
Peace. After Mayor Matsui had made a speech at theawards ceremony, he brought down the trophy, which isin the shape of a hammer, saying “Let’s smash the doctrine of nuclear deterrence with this!” He also showed4the audience the wreath of a thousand paper cranes that
he had brought from Hiroshima as a symbol of hope,
and was given a warm round of applause.

Japanese Consulate-General, Honolulu City and thethree cities mentioned above. The attendees each gave
presentations on the background to their sister city relationship with Honolulu City, and a discussion was held
on how to position sister city exchange within the city’s
initiatives and how to expand such exchange activities
in the future.
Mr. Komizo explained that the large number of immigrants from Hiroshima City in Honolulu was a factor
in establishing the sister city relationship. He also spoke
about projects being implemented by Mayors for Peace,and asked participants to be proactively involved in suchinitiatives.
There was also a discussion with Hawaiian peace activists who had gathered there thanks to calls by
Jacqueline Cabasso, a member of this Foundation. Ms.
Cabasso helped explain the Mayors for Peace activities.

April 30 – May 3
Mayors for Peace held an A-bomb poster exhibition
at United Nations Headquarters where the preparatorycommittee was held, aiming to deepen conference participants’ understanding of the reality of the atomic
bombing.
Mayors for Peace has high expectations for the 2020
NPT Conference, which is being held in the historic year
marking fifty years since the NPT came into force. To
expand the common base of all the signatories regarding
the basic objectives and aims of the treaty, on May 10(the final day of the committee meeting) thisFoundation’s North American coordinator Ms.
Jacqueline Cabasso presented committee chair Mr. Syedwith a joint appeal asking for serious dialogue to overcome our differences and come up with creative solutions to definitely and concretely make progress on
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation measures.
The appeal was also distributed to all government representatives at the venue. It was also sent to the United
Nations Secretary-General and all United Nations member states, and Mayors for Peace member cities wereasked to widely communicate the appeal to the governments and civic society.
(Mayors for Peace and 2020 Vision Promotion Division)

June 29
Mr. Komizo attended the international committee todiscuss a resolution to support Mayors for Peace activities aiming for the abolition of nuclear weapons. This
committee had been proposed by the mayor of Des
Moines City, an American Leader City for Mayors for
Peace. There was no opposition to the resolution and it
was decided to propose the resolution at the plenary session.
At the general conference in the morning, former
Ambassador Kennedy gave a speech. She said that her
father, former President Kennedy, believed that it is not
only a government that changes a country, but that theefforts of mayors who work closely with citizens on adaily basis have a major impact. She also spoke about
his desire for a world without nuclear weapons. She
talked about the importance of “conciliation” and “moral
awakening”, themes from former President Obama’s
speech in Hiroshima, and about her thoughts on
Hiroshima. Mr. Komizo then had an opportunity to
speak. He expressed his gratitude for the efforts made toorganize former President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima,
and asked for future cooperation in Mayors for Peace
activities aiming to realize a world free of nuclear weapons.
Mayor Matsui, who had arrived later in Honolulu,
paid his respects at the cenotaph for Japanese immigrants in Hawaii together with Mr. Komizo, commemorating the struggles of the people who immigrated from
Hiroshima to Hawaii, and offered a silent prayer to thevictims of the First and Second World Wars.

Visit to United States to attend
Annual Meeting of the United States
Conference of Mayors
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, the President ofMayors for Peace, and Yasuyoshi Komizo, SecretaryGeneral of Mayors for Peace (and Chairperson of thisFoundation), attended the 87th Annual Meeting of theUnited States Conference of Mayors held in Honolulu
City in Hawaii. While they were in the U.S., a nuclear
superpower, they made requests for support to expand
Mayors for Peace membership and to develop momentum at the municipal and civic level for the abolition of
nuclear weapons.
Mayor Matsui also gave a lecture at the high schoolthat former President Obama attended, Punahou School,
where he spoke about the reality of the damage from theatomic bomb, communicated the earnest wishes of the
hibakusha, and shared their desire for peace.

June 30
Mayor Matsui and Mr. Komizo attended the annual
general meeting (day 3), and observed a session titled“The Path to 100% Renewable Energy in American
Cities”.
At this session, Honolulu’s Mayor Caldwell made aspeech. He first touched upon former President Obama’s
visit to Hiroshima in 2016, and then, introducing Mayor
Matsui, he said “the mayor of that city, Hiroshima, ishere with us today. Next year Hiroshima will commemorate 75 years since the atomic bombing. A tragedy likethat which occurred in Hiroshima and Nagasaki mustnever be allowed to happen again.” Mayor Matsui thenstood up and made some remarks, and was welcomed byapplause by the attendees.
At the lunch session that followed, Mayor Matsui
had the opportunity to make a speech. The Mayor of
Columbia City in South Carolina, Mayor Benjamin, whois the chairperson of the United States Conference ofJune 28
Mr. Komizo, representing the Hiroshima City Mayor,
attended a discussion session with Ms. Kennedy, the former US Ambassador to Japan. Together with him in thediscussion were a general secretary from Honolulu City;
the Consul-General of Japan in Honolulu Mr. Ito; andthe mayors of three cities in Japan (Uwajima, Chigasaki
and Nagaoka) that have a sister city relationship with
Honolulu. Mr. Komizo expressed his gratitude to former
Ambassador Kennedy for her efforts in organizing thevisit to Hiroshima of former President Obama in 2016.
He also asked for the ambassador’s continued support
and cooperation in Mayors for Peace activities aiming
for the achievement of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Mr. Komizo then attended the Honolulu Sister City
Exchange Summit, together with representatives of the5

Mayors, introduced Mayor Matsui, saying that as
President of Mayors for Peace, Mayor Matsui has tirelessly worked with Des Moines Mayor Cownie andmayors of other member cities throughout the world tobuild international public opinion for the realization of aworld without nuclear weapons. He said that the UnitedStates Conference of Mayors has a long relationshipwith Mayors for Peace, and that the activities of Mayors
for Peace are more important and timelier now than everbefore, as we face an extremely chaotic global situation.
Mayor Matsui then took to the stage.
After explaining Mayors for Peace activities, Mayor
Matsui said that the hibakusha, whose average age isnow 82 years old, are continuing to plea for us to realizea world free of nuclear weapons as soon as possible,
based on the belief that no-one else should experience
what they did. He also said that the budgets that are being spent by nuclear weapon states on modernizing anddeveloping advanced functionality of their nuclear forces could be used more constructively on things like people’s welfare or building city infrastructure. He said thathe strongly hopes
we can all work
together toward
the realization ofa world without
nuclear weapons,so that the tireless efforts of all
like-minded people to protect theat the Annual Meeting of the United
safe and secure SpeechStates Conference of Mayors
life of the people
will not be wasted through the use of nuclear weapons.
He received a warm round of applause.
At the afternoon session on Leadership ofMayoresses, Mayor Matsui listened to a speech by Ms.
Tulsi Gabbard, a member of the US House ofRepresentatives representing Hawaii who has announced
that she will run in the presidential election. In the same
way as Mayor Matsui’s speech before her, Ms. Gabbard
referred to the huge amount of taxpayer’s money being
spent on the development of nuclear weapons, and said
that in the case of Hawaii, this is money that should bespent on aging infrastructure. She stated that she decided to run in the presidential election to appeal for thefact that national security issues have a direct impact on
people’s lives. After her speech, Mayor Matsui spoke to
Ms. Gabbard, and asked for her to visit Hiroshima andfor her future collaboration in Mayors for Peace activities.
After this, Mayor Matsui was interviewed by
Hawaiian newspapers. The journalists, one of whom hada grandmother who was a hibakusha in Hiroshima, andanother who had conducted interviews in Hiroshima,asked “What kind of impact does it have on your position as mayor when you have family members who were
hibakusha?” The mayor replied that his mother and other relatives were hibakusha, but that they did not reallywant to talk about their painful experience to the family.
He said that as he has spoken to many hibakusha after
becoming mayor, he has heard about their experiences
and feelings about the bombing, and now has a better
understanding of the feelings of his mother and otherrelatives. In the second half of the interview, Mayor
Doyle of Beaverton City Oregon, a Mayors for Peace
member city, also attended. Every year, Mayor Doylejointly proposes the resolution at the annual meeting of
the United States Conference of Mayors affirming theactivities of Mayors for Peace and calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Mayor Doyle stately firmly that mayors change thecountry together with the people, and for that reason
Mayors for Peace are going to bring about change
throughout the countries of the world to create a worldthat is free of nuclear weapons.
July 2
At Punahou School, which former President Obamaattended, Mayor Matsui gave a talk to around 130 students attending the summer school there who werelearning about Asian history. He talked about the realityof the damage from the atomic bombing and the wishesof the hibakusha, and said that he wanted the students towalk together with him on the path toward creating aworld without nuclear weapons. The students listened
keenly to the mayor’s talk, taking notes, and afterwards
asked many questions. In response to questions such as“Is the abolition of nuclear weapons possible?”, “howdo you assess your achievements as the president ofMayors for Peace?”, and “What can other countries
learn from the dropping of the A-bomb?”, Mayor Matsui
replied “The dropping of the A-bomb was an extremely
unfortunate incident for the whole of humankind. To ensure that such a tragedy does not occur again, it is important to think logically about how we can resolve
differences of opinions in a peaceful way, and make theworld sustainable.” He gave the student representative
paper cranes that had been folded by junior high school
students in Kanagawa Prefecture, and conveyed the desire for peace.
In the morning session of the Annual Meeting of theUnited States Conference of Mayors, the resolution affirming the abolition of nuclear weapons and the activities of Mayors for Peace was adopted unanimously. This
resolution has now been adopted for fourteen consecutive years, since 2006.
At the Annual Meeting on this day, Mayor Barnett ofRochester Hills City, Michigan, gave his first speech aspresident of the United States Conference of Mayors,
saying “Everyone has the right to live happily. As mayors, we have to make efforts to achieve that.” After the
speech, Mayor Matsui handed Mayor Barnett paper
cranes that had been folded by junior high school students from Osaka, and asked him to join Mayors for
Peace.
In the evening, at an event organized by Honolulu
City, Mayor Matsui made requests for membership ofMayors for Peace to Columbia Mayor Benjamin, who
had been the president of the United States Conferenceof Mayors up until this year’s Annual Meeting and had
issued a Peace City Statement in August of this year,
and to Mayor Callaway of Hillsboro City, Oregon, whois growing A-bomb gingko trees, and received a positive
response. The membership request form was later submitted by Columbia City, and it became a member from
October 1.
(Mayors for Peace and 2020 Vision Promotion Division)

Mayors for Peace Secretary-Generalvisits the United States to attend the2019 Carnegie International Nuclear
Policy Conference and other events
From March 5-14, 2019, Mayors for Peace SecretaryGeneral Yasuyoshi Komizo (Chairperson of this6

Japanese Consul-General in San Francisco and others.
He explained to them that Mayors for Peace is focusing
on the two goals of achieving a world with no nuclear
weapons and creating safe cities that are full of vitality,
as the path towards achieving perpetual world peace.
In addition, Mr. Komizo also took the stage at a lecture session of the Los Angeles branch of PSR(Physicians for Social Responsibility), an organizationthat was the driving force behind the adoption of the resolution supporting the abolition of nuclear weapons bymultiple cities in the United States in 2018. He spoke
about the importance of holding cooperative dialogue
while recognizing diversity to achieve a peaceful world,and called for the promotion of initiatives aiming forpeace.

Foundation) visited the United States, where he met
with the mayors of member cities in California and people involved in nuclear disarmament NGOs. He also attended an international conference on nuclear policy
hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace held in Washington D.C.
Visit to California
Mr. Komizo visited the state of California, where he
met with the mayors of member cities Oakland, Los
Angeles, and Santa Barbara and the head of theInternational Affairs Division of San Francisco. He
asked that they work on revitalizing Mayors for Peace
activities on the west coast and strengthen collaborative
ties with Des Moines, a leader city in the United States,
and reaffirmed that they will continue to work together.
The mayor of Oakland was proactive about cooperating in activities to increase membership. The mayor of
Los Angeles explained that Los Angeles is promoting
initiatives to address environmental issues as an SDGs
(Sustainable Development Goals) leader in the UnitedStates, and expressed active interest in cooperating in
activities regarding A-bomb survivor trees. The mayorof Santa Barbara stated that they would like to focus
even more on environmental destruction and peace issues.
Mr. Komizo also met with the former governor of
California, a professor from Stanford University, theAttendance at the 2019 Carnegie International
Nuclear Policy Conference
Mr. Komizo attended the 2019 Carnegie International
Nuclear Policy Conference held in Washington D.C.
This is an international conference that is held once every two years by the Carnegie Endowment forInternational Peace, an influential think tank in the
United States. At the conference, diplomats, researchers,
experts and others meet to discuss issued that the global
community is facing, such as nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, and look for solutions to the issues.
Mr. Komizo was a panelist in a session that forecast
the global situation regarding nuclear disarmament andnon-proliferation over the next two years. In front ofaround 800 people who had gathered from 45 countries
around the world, he spoke about the message of the
hibakusha and the initiatives of Mayors for Peace. He
emphasized the role to be played by local governments
to achieve a world without nuclear weapons, and appealed strongly for the importance of the diverse members of civic society combining their strength to work
together.

Forum to commemorate 2nd anniversaryof the adoption of the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons
On July 7, 2019, which marked the second anniversary of the adoption of the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), thisFoundation held a commemorative forum titled“Young People Passing Down the Thoughts of theAtomic Bomb Survivors” together with theInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Mayor Matsui spoke at the start of the forum, andmade a call to the approximately 180 young people inattendance, saying “I want this forum to be an opportunity for you to think carefully about what kind ofactions you can take to create a world that is free of
nuclear weapons.”
This was followed by a talk by Magnus Løvold,
Policy Adviser of the Arms Unit in ICRC’s Legal
Division. He firmly stated that “the key to success for
the TPNW is whether or not the young generation
continue to be proactively involved. I want you toraise your voices and muster the courage to act withhope and conviction.” In the panel discussion, fouryoung people spoke about the peace activities thatthey are each respectively involved in. These included A-bomb paintings that were created from listening
to the experiences of the hibakusha, and petition activities calling for the prompt conclusion of the
T P N W. T h e y t h e nheld a discussion on
the role that the young
generation can play,
together with Atomic
Bomb Witnesses andAtomic Bomb Legacy
Panel discussion
Successors.
(Mayors for Peace and 2020 Vision Promotion Division)

Panel discussion(Mayors for Peace and 2020 Vision Promotion Division)

New Arrivals Exhibit

Venue: H iroshima Peace Memorial Museum, East
Building B1F, Special Exhibition Room
Period: March 29, 2019 - March 1, 2020
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum collects andstores atomic bomb artifacts that were kept by the survivors (hibakusha) and their families, as precious materials to communicate the reality of the damage from theatomic bombing. In fiscal year 2017, 784 items were
newly donated by 61 people. Some of those items are on
display.
Seventy-four years have passed since the World War
II ended, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to collect atomic bomb artifacts and detailed information related to them. Aiming for the abolition of nuclear
weapons, the museum will continue to communicate tofuture generations the various types of damage caused
7

from that time. After much trial and error, and after listening to the A-bomb Witness’s story a number of times,
the student said that there was a change of feelings: “Ithought that I have to respect the feelings of the hibakusha who witnessed this scene. I thought that this is thebest way to reconstruct that experience.”
The paintings of the atomic bombing that were completed this time will be used to ensure that people have a
deeper understanding of the A-bomb experience, by using the paintings when A-bomb Witnesses are givingtalks on their experiences. The paintings will also be
loaned out and offered as data images, to help pass on
the reality of the damage from the bombing to future
generations.
(Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)

The first aid bag of Yoko Moriwaki (right photo, 13 years old at thetime of the bombing)
Yoko was participating in building demolition work when the bomb
hit, and died on the night of the August 6.
(Donated by Mr. Koji Hosokawa)by the bombing. We appreciate further donations ofatomic bomb artifacts to the museum.
(Peace Memorial Museum Curatorial Division)“Memoir of the A-bombing”

Memories of that day

Paintings of the Atomic Bombing
Complete
Since 2007, with support from Hiroshima Municipal
Motomachi High School Creative Expression Course,
this Foundation has been involved in the creation ofpaintings of the atomic bombing. The high school students work together with Atomic Bomb Witnesses tocreate pictures of the atomic bombing that communicate
the situation at the time, depicting scenes from thebombing that remain in the memories of the A-bomb
Witnesses.
This time, five witnesses and eleven students completed eleven paintings that they had been working on
since 2018.
At the completion ceremony held at Motomachi
High School gallery on July 1, 2019, five A-bomb
Witnesses attended, together with the students who created the paintings and other students in the Creative
Expression Course, and others from this Foundation andMotomachi High School.
A student who depicted a scene of people fleeing tothe outskirts of the city after the bomb was dropped andthe people nearby who no longer had any energy to fleespoke about feelings during the process of creating thepainting: “It was very painful thinking about the story ofeach individual. I was struck by the deep sadness of thepeople who experienced the bombing, and it was heartwrenching.”
Another student who made a painting of a person
who experienced despair in the burning ruins in the city
center and chose to wait to die said that for the student,
who belongs to a generation that has never experienced
war, it was impossible to imagine what it is like to go todie, or to wait to die, and the student had to show thepainting many times to the teacher and look up materials“People fleeing and people fallen”
by Miharu Ono, Motomachi HighSchool Creative Expression
Course and Hiroaki Kawasaki,
Atomic Bomb Witness

by Hiroaki Kawasaki,
Atomic Bomb Witness for thisFoundation
Prologue
In May 1945, as a 1st grade elementary school student, I was taken by my grandmother to evacuate to a
relative’s home in Yamagata County. Immediately after
that, my younger sister, who was 2 years old, was also
taken to my mother’s parents’ home in Mihara, but apparently, she was so lonely there that she was broughtback to my parents in Hiroshima City before six months
had even passed.
I too was feeling sad every day. Maybe my grandmother realized that, because every now and then she
would bring me back to Hiroshima. We would spend
two or three days with my family, and when I felt better,
she would take me away to the evacuation location
again. This happened a number of times. The last time I
came back to Hiroshima was one or two days before thebomb was dropped.
Enveloped by a terrible flash of light
On the morning of August 6, my father, who was ateacher, went to school by bicycle as he always did. Just
before the bomb was dropped, the six remaining members of the family were gathered in the cool living room,
playing with my little brother, who was 1 year old.
Eventually my mother took my little brother to the toilet, and feeling bored, I decided to go outside. I went to
the entrance of the house, and I had just finished putting
on my shoes when it happened.
Flash! All around me was a terrible flash of light.
Surprised, and with my shoes still on, I ran back to
the living room that I had just come from. At around thesame time as I fled to the living room, the building collapsed. The pillars fell over, the ceiling fell down to aheight that even I, an elementary school student, could
reach, and the dust flying around turned everything pitch
black in an instant. My mother, carrying my little brother, felt her way back to the living room. We all thoughtthat our house must have been directly hit by a bomb.
But no matter how long we waited, no-one came to“Despair: person waiting to die”
by Chiho Korenaga, Motomachi
High School Creative Expression
Course and Noboru Sueoka,
Atomic Bomb Witness

8

transparent, with no taste and no smell. What I mean bythat is, water honestly takes the shape of its vessel without being affected by any man-made rules, either political, religious, race-based or national, and possesses theenergy expressed in the saying “Constant dripping wears
away the stone.” And when drops gather together, they
have the great power to move mountains, as expressedin the story The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains.
That is the backbone of my testimonial activities. And I
believe that far ahead of that one drop of water is apeaceful world where our descendants, who we havenever seen, can live with peace of mind.

rescue us. So my mother went to the entrance, and cameback with everyone’s shoes and evacuation bags, and wewent outside through a window facing on to the road.
We then found that all the houses around us had collapsed just like ours, and there were already many people on the road, which was dark with dust. There werepeople crouched down investigating their children’s
wounds, people shouting something at their collapsed
houses, and the children were all crying.
Flight
The adults
consulted witheach other, and it
was decided thatfor the time being we would
flee to the west.
We fled along aroad where allhouses on bothsides had collapsed, and the “7-year-old me and my family fleeing”
road was strewn drawn by Hinako Misaka and Hiroaki
Kawasakiwith pieces oftile and glass and bits of wood. We fled together withlarge numbers of people with wounds and burns. There
were people staggering along, bleeding from headwounds, people being supported by their shoulders as
they walked, people whose backs were stained withblood, people whose jackets were burned and in tatters;with many people we fled across Nishi Ohashi bridge. In
the grassy area near the construction work on Ota Riverdrainage canal, many people with wounds and burns
were sitting or lying, having run out of strength.
After that we arrived at the town of Koi, and after awhile, it suddenly began to rain, rain that was black as if
the water was mixed with soot. We rested for a while ina nearby shrine, and then fled by a narrow farm road
alongside bamboo groves and rice paddies in the direction of Kabe. When we got to that area, a huge fire had
broken out in Hiroshima City, which we could see to ourright, and we passed many people with burns and injuries. It was a horrific site for a 1st grade elementary student like me.
It was late at night when we arrived at a relative’s
home in Kabe Town. My father, who had gone to school,
was rescued a few days later with serious burns, and wasbrought to the same relative’s home.

Profile[Hiroaki Kawasaki]
Born in 1938. Experienced the atomic bombing at home in Higashikan-on Town, 1.3km from the hypocenter. His family of six people
mixed with other survivors and fled to a relative’s house in the northof the city, passing through the Nishi Hiroshima area. On the way, witnessed many people fleeing with wounds and burns, and others sitting
or lying down, having lost all their strength.
Became an A-bomb Legacy Successor in 2016, and active as an
A-bomb witness from 2017.

Thinking about Peace:

Sharing the truth of “absoluterejection of nuclear power”(February 2019)

by Haruko Moritaki
Co-Representative of theHiroshima Alliance for Nuclear
Weapons Abolition (HANWA)
Since the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons(TPNW), which bans nuclear weapons through international law, was adopted at the United Nations in July
2017, there are continuing struggles to reach enactmentof the treaty. Amidst new global tension there is aheightened risk of nuclear war, and the situation concerning nuclear weapons is becoming extremely dire.
These are the circumstances in which various initiatives are under way in different fields to pursue research
activities that further reveal and pass on the actual situation of the atomic bombings and the damage inflicted by
nuclear weapons. As hibakusha, young people, researchers, and people involved in the anti-nuclear movement
work together with governments in the atomic bombed
areas and continuously conduct their activities, the expectation is that Hiroshima will train young people tolead and pass on such activities.
What the nuclear arms race has produced is the development of uranium mines, the production of nuclear
weapons, damage from nuclear testing conducted allover the world, and nuclear war where atomic bombs
were actually used. It has brought about the utmost inhumane tragedy, unprecedented in the history of humankind. At the same time, it has also caused irreversible
nuclear damage from major accidents at nuclear power
plants as the energy source. Even the residue from theenriched uranium for nuclear weapons and nuclear pow-

EpilogueAt the time there were seven people in our family. In
the fifty-something years since the bombing, I lost my
grandfather, grandmother, mother, younger brother andfather passed away, in that order, just like losing teeth.
Now the only remaining family members are my younger sister and I. My father’s burns and his damaged eyes
and ears never healed, my mother died of a heart attack
and my younger brother died of cancer. My younger sister is still alive but has had major operations for aortic
dissection and to remove her ovaries, among others, andI have also had many operations for cardiac infarction.
In all cases, our medical conditions were greatly impacted by radiation exposure.
Atomic bomb testimony activities – becoming adrop of water
I am involved in testimony activities with the intention of becoming a “drop of water” that is colorless,9er plants are continuously used in war as depleted uranium weapons, and are increasing the nuclear damage.
In order to put an end to the negative legacy that humankind has created, the key is to first reveal what theactual situation is.
In 2015, 70 years after the end of the World War II,
the World Nuclear Victims Forum was held, gathering
together in Hiroshima City nuclear victims, including
victims of nuclear testing, from all over the world. At
the Forum, one of the actions taken to reveal the actual
situation was to issue the Declaration of the World
Nuclear Victims Forum in Hiroshima (Draft Elements ofa Charter of World Nuclear Victims’ Rights). This we also understand as the serious responsibility of regionsthat have suffered from nuclear war.
From the experience of suffering from this unprecedented inhumane tragedy of the atomic bombing, someof hibakusha of Hiroshima have arrived at the principles
that “human beings cannot coexist with nuclear power”
and “humanity must survive”, and based on these principles have led the battle against nuclear powers. Absoluterejection of nuclear weapons means in reality the abolishment of nuclear weapons and the abolishment of nuclear power plants. Since the bombing of Hiroshima andNagasaki until today, I myself have earnestly fought toachieve these things, but there have been times when I
felt like hopelessly distant objectives.
However, with the Convention on the Prohibition of
Anti-Personnel Mines in 1999, and the Convention on
Cluster Munitions in 2008, I saw that these wereachieved by collaboration between citizens and willing
nations, and I was then certain―I thought “This is it!
This is the process to use to abolish nuclear weaponsand depleted uranium bombs!” Since 2009, volunteers
in Hiroshima has been appealing within Japan and overseas for a nuclear weapons convention and a convention
to ban depleted uranium weapons, which are inhumane
weapons, and has moved forward with the movement toprohibit such weapons through international law.
Following on from Oslo in 2013 and Mexico in
2014, in December 2014 I participated in the third
International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of
Nuclear Weapons, which was held in Vienna. At the
Vienna conference, there was expansion and clarification of the movement to legally prohibit nuclear weapons, which are inhumane weapons. The practicewhereby civic society works in collaboration with willing nations is a process based on the method that wasused to prohibit cluster bombs. When I came back to
Hiroshima from that conference I was filled with newcertainty and hope, and with a determination to exert all
my efforts to prohibit and put an end to nuclear weapons
through international law.
The Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons was held at the United
Nations in March and June-July, 2017. At the same time,
we asked A-bomb survivor organizations and other antinuclear civic groups to appeal for “a nuclear weapons
convention now!” as one voice from Hiroshima, theplace of origin for the anti-nuclear movement. As a result, twenty-seven organizations gathered and held civic
gatherings and a candle message gathering at A-Bomb
Dome, and issued a joint statement to communicate topeople in Japan and overseas. Hiroshima citizens also lit
1,000 candle glass lights to write “BAN NUKES NOW!
2017”. A photo of this was sent to people at the United
Nations, international NGOs and others to call for solidarity, and it created a huge impact internationally.
The United States and other nuclear weapon states

and nations that depend on nuclear deterrence capabilities such as Japan oppose the adoption of the TPNW at
the United Nations and are frantically trying to somehow prevent its enactment. The US Trump administration has been pursuing a path towards nuclear war,starting with its declaration of the use of small-scale nuclear weapons in war with the Nuclear Posture Review(NPR) in February 2018, through to its withdrawal fromthe Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty in
February 2019. The government of Japan, the country
that has been bombed by atomic bombs, completely opposes the TPNW and at the same time evaluates highly
the NPR, and has become a target of distrust from theglobal community. However, it is no longer possible tostop the global momentum for legal prohibition of nuclear weapons: the TPNW has now been signed by 70
states and ratified by 22 states as of February 25, 2019.
The damage from war and nuclear weapon that I
have seen, as one born and brought up in Hiroshima, isthe violent deaths of innocent people caused by the
dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by theUnited States, the hibakushas’ struggles with illness, andultimately, “delayed death”, the collapse of personal relationships, and producing A-bomb orphans and elderly
hibakusha living alone.
However, that was not the only nuclear damage.
Nuclear damage is caused at each stage of the cycle ofuse of nuclear power. That reality has been thrust in
front of me in the uranium mines of India, the nuclear
test sites in Nevada, the damage survey sites where depleted uranium bombs were used in the Iraq war, and at
the site of the damage from the Fukushima nuclear accident. I have raced through life for decades while pouring
all my energy into the fight against harsh reality. And
this has all taught me that absolute rejection of nuclear
weapons ultimately means a fight with the huge powerof states and nuclear industry.
As long as the light of my small life is still alive, I
will continue to take on the battle of those who came before me. And I believe that young people will definitely
and powerfully take on this work.
Profile[Haruko Moritaki]
Co-Representative of the Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear WeaponsAbolition (since 2001), Joint Facilitator of the Japan NGO Network
for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (since 2010), Secretary-general of theHiroshima Project for Banning DU Weapons (since 2003), operating
committee member of the International Coalition to Ban Uranium
Weapons (ICBUW) (since 2004), Secretary-general of the World
Nuclear Victims Forum (since 2014), part-time lecturer at Hiroshima
University (2015-2016).
Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation council member.
Winner of the 2018 Kiyoshi Tanimoto Peace Award.

A Tale of Two Brothers Across Time

―Hiroshima Artist Gorō Shikoku andthe Diary of Naoto on His Deathbed―
Venue: H iroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic
Bomb Victims B1F
Period: January 1 – December 29, 2020

Gorō Shikoku (1924-2014) was an artist who devoted
all of his talent to plea for an end to war and the abolition of nuclear weapons. The incident that drove him to
do so was the end of the short life of his beloved younger brother Naoto (1927-1945), who was killed by the10atomic bomb at the ageof eighteen.
The death of his
younger brother filled
him with the determination to “create paintings on behalf of those
who died. To express
opposition to war andthe abolition of nuclear
weapons. Whether that
becomes art or not…”
Near the end of thew a r, G o r ō w e n t t oManchuria and joined
the Kwantung Army,
while his younger
brother Naoto was called to Hiroshima and was working
in the city as a member of the security forces. Of the five
siblings, the two brothers were the closest. Separated byaround one thousand kilometers, they each continued tohope that the other was safe.
This exhibition reconstructs a dialogue between thetwo brothers across time, from the day of the atomic
bombing until Naoto’s death. Mainly based on the diarythat Naoto kept on his deathbed, the exhibition also displays the eulogy written by Gorō and his art works.

Thinking about Peace:

Hiroshima Japanese Classand International Exchange(July 2019)by Suzue Mitsuhara
Representative, Hiroshima
Japanese Class
Hiroshima Japanese Class was established as a grassroots activity run by volunteers in November 1987. It
was the first volunteer Japanese language class in
Hiroshima City. After a six-month preparation period,
the school started proper lessons from April 1988, andsince that time, for over thirty years, we have aimed tosupport the Japanese language studies of foreign residents in Hiroshima, as well as creating a place to interact with Hiroshima’s Japanese residents, providing
information to foreign residents, and providing a place
where they can feel comfortable.
When we first started, the students at the school wereJapanese returnees from China and their families, theforeign spouses of Japanese residents, international students and their families, the spouses of Korean residents, and others. Every Saturday morning, we heldclasses at Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce andIndustry, and at night we rented a room in Mazda’s
Fureiai Kaikan building. Later, we moved our classes todifferent venues including the Central Community
Center, followed by Crystal Plaza, and then Hiroshima
Peace Culture Foundation. At the same time, we also
provided support for various international exchange
events including the Asian Games and the international
exchange festival “PeaceLove”, as well as support for
visits by delegations from around the world and
UNITAR Hiroshima (United Nations Institute forTraining and Research) activities. In this way, we havebeen involved in various different activities.
In our classes, the students start by learning greetings and the hiragana letters, and go on to study
Japanese grammar and conversation. It was also necessary to provide our students with daily lifestyle support
for living in Japan, such as shopping, separating garbage, and what to do at a hospital or bank.
As Japan’s economy has grown, there has been an
increase in the number of foreign workers and trainees
coming to Japan, and there was a greater demand forJapanese language schools. At the same time, with thebursting of the economic bubble and the bankruptcy ofLehman Brothers, the Japanese economy started to slow
down. This led to restructuring of foreign workers andmany left Japan. This had a great impact on our school
as well, but we have continued our activities to the present.
In addition to our previous students, we currently
have businessmen and their families, trainees and technical students, English teachers, and foreigners who arestaying for a short time in Japan for tourist or culturalactivities. In this way, our students are in Japan for various reasons. Our classroom activities are not just the
study of the Japanese language, but also include seasonal events such as cherry-blossom viewing and festivals,
local walks to places like Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien【Exhibition contents】(1) Video (approximately 30 minutes in length, shown ina large 3-screen display)

On August 6, 1945, Naoto Shikoku experienced theatomic bombing in temporary military barracks in
Nobori Town, around one kilometer from the hypocenter. Suffering a serious wound to his left leg, he returned
home two days later, but despite the earnest efforts of
his mother and younger brother to nurse him back tohealth, he passed away on August 28. Naoto recorded
every day of that period in his diary. Gorō learned of his
brother’s death from the atomic bombing when he returned home after three years of internment in Siberia,
and speaks of his feelings to read out the diary as if hewere in dialogue with Naoto.
The actress Midori Kiuchi plays the two roles ofGorō and Naoto, and the narration is provided by thefilm director and actor Shinya Tsukamoto.

(2) Display on information tablets (available in four languages: Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese)・Gorō Shikoku left behind many works commemorating his late younger brother. The exhibition includes
all six poems that he wrote for Naoto, including“Requiem for my brother”.
・Gorō Shikoku firmly believed that the connection between mother and child, the most primordial element
for human beings, is what supports peace, and he continues to paint pictures of the mother and child image.
This may be viewed in the Gorō Shikoku Gallery together with works depicting Hiroshima’s bridges andothers.
(3) Over ten of Gorō Shikoku’s actual works are on display.
(4) Talks and other outdoor events are also being
planned.

The exhibition commences from New Year, 2020, and ishighly recommended.
(Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims)
11

gardens, and Futabanosato, experience making theirown okonomiyaki savory pancakes, and other Japanesecultural experiences (calligraphy, origami, tea ceremony,flower arrangement and wearing kimonos). Throughthese various activities we aim to promote interaction
with the students.
To ensure that our students are safe in their daily
lives in Japan, with support from the fire brigade and police, we also hold disaster prevention drills to ensurethat they can protect themselves in the case of an earthquake or other natural disasters, and safety workshops toensure they do not get involved in an accident or incident.

will continue our exchange activities with the people of
the world as “small-town diplomats”, and I hope that by
doing so we can play even a small role in the realizationof world peace.
We look forward to your continued understanding
and support for our local Japanese language volunteerbased school.
Hiroshima Japanese Class
February 2016: Awarded the Activity Encouragement Prize by
Hiroshima UNESCO
February 2019: Awarded the International Exchange Encouragement
Award by Hiroshima Peace Creation Fund
April 2019: Awarded the Hiroshima City Government Award of Meritby the City of Hiroshima

Hiroshima City Consultation Service
for International Residents
At the Hiroshima City Consultation Service forInternational Residents, from September 2019, consultations are being provided every Tuesday and Friday by aVietnamese-speaking consultant.
In addition to the consultations that had been provided to date in Portuguese and Spanish by consultants sentout to Aki Ward Office, consultants are also being sent
to the Motomachi Administrative Office to provide consultations in Chinese.
From October 2019, employees from the Hiroshima
Immigration Services Agency will come every second
Monday to respond to consultations regarding status ofresidence (booking required). Please make use of thisservice.

On June 29, 2019, we conducted a hands-on study tour at
Hiroshima Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center.

There are students who could not speak any Japanese
when they first arrived in Japan and came to our school
looking very anxious. When I see these students smile
as they gradually become able to converse in Japanese,
and when they express their gratitude, saying how happy they were that our school helped them out when they
were struggling, I truly feel that it was worthwhilesteadily continuing with our activities. Students who returned to their home countries continue interacting with
our volunteers through email and social media, andsometimes come back to Japan and have a fun time
meeting up again.
Each foreigner has many family members, relatives
and friends back in his or her home country. If the students go back to their country and tell their family andfriends about their life in Japan, they too will understandJapan a little better, and come to like it, and I believethat this is a small step that leads to world peace.
From April 2019, a new residence status related to
specific skills was introduced, and as a result, we have
many skilled trainees coming to our school. Our schoolis operated based on the goodwill of our volunteers, and
it is difficult to secure a stable venue, cover operating
costs and recruit volunteers. There are also many otherchallenges, such as issues regarding the children of foreign residents, who require learning support. I feel thatour volunteer-based efforts are reaching their limit.
From now on, we will need to work together with government to create a city that is a comfortable living environment for both Japanese and non-Japanese residents.
The number of foreigners coming to Hiroshima willcontinue to increase. I aim to continue to run thisJapanese language classes that people enjoy and thatlive up to Hiroshima’s title of “International City ofPeace”. The international situation is changing in diverse ways. Under those circumstances, our volunteers【Hours open, location】(new services in bold)
LocationInternational ConferenceCenter Hiroshima(in International Exchange
Lounge)Languages
Days open
Time
ChineseMonday toPortuguese
9:00amFriday
Spanish
4:00pmVietnamese Tuesday, Friday

Motomachi Administrative
Office (in Motomachi
ChineseDanchi residential block)2nd Tuesdayof every month

Aki Ward Office
Portuguese(within Kusei Chosei-ka(Ward Policy Coordination)
SpanishDepartment)

2nd Wednesdayof every month
3rd Thursday
of every month

10:15am12:30pm
1:30pm4:00pm【Contact information】
Tel：082-241-5010
Email：soudan@pcf.city.hiroshima.jp【Closed】
Public holidays, August 6, December 29-January 3

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
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