Muse No. 42
Japanese Citizens Network of Museums for Peace
Newsletter: December 2020
Translators: Miki Otsuka & Emi Karimata
Editors: Ikuro Anzai & Kazuyo Yamane
Ilustrators：Erico Tosaki & Pegge Patten
musejapankyoto@gmail.com

The 10th International Conference of Museums for Peacea Landmark Success as a Virtual Online Conference━ The Manga Pandemic Web Exhibition Is Open until 25 December ━INMP 2020 has been a constant
struggle against the unknown

Technical assistance to presenters
was a great help

The 10th International Conference of Museums
for Peace was planned to be held on 16-20
September 2020 as an in-person conference inKyoto and Hiroshima, but the spread of COVID19 forced a change in the original plan, and in
April 2020, the INMP proposed to theOrganizing Committee to change the plan to a
virtual conference, taking into account the viewsof the Executive Board and Advisory Committee
members.
The Organizing Committee was not sure about
the success of the international conference at the
beginning of the change of plans, because theCommittee had no experience in conducting suchinternational conference virtually and there weremany unknown factors, including the prospect ofmember participation.
However, the Organizing Committee wasrelieved to see the application status on 15 June
which was the deadline for submissions for thepresentation. It turns out that over 100 people
from different countries would be presenting at
the international conference on a variety of topics.

This situation was not only troubling for theorganizers, but also for the presenters who were
not proficient in virtual technology. Roy
Tamashiro, the Organizing Committee's special
technical advisor, was attentive to those technicalinquiries and contributed greatly to the successof the conference.
In addition, the Organizing Committee appointed
Ms. Kazuyo Yamane as the chair of theinternational liaison committee to facilitatecommunication between presenters and theOrganizing Committee, and INMP General
Coordinator, Professor Ikuro Anzai, frequently
published the "From General Coordinator'sDesk" to share information with INMP members
and presenters.

erico

1

Starting with Japanese cultural
events of drums and IkebanaContent-rich presentations
on the website

The content of the conference which was
released on the website on 18 September wasvery comprehensive, informative and attractive.
The opening program began with theperformance of Japanese drums by the studentsof Kyoto University of the Arts, one of the coorganizers, and the commemorative lecture
following the welcome message was given by
Ms. Ikenobo Senko, the next Iemoto (head) of
Ikenobo School of Ikebana, a traditional
Japanese flower arrangement.

Presentations from the international conference
are still available on the INMP website and you
can read information including newly published"Museums for Peace Worldwide" (Japanese andEnglish editions), four webinars (Hiroshima
Panel, Directors/Curators Panel, Youth Panel and
Gender & Human Rights Panel), paper
presentations, panel discussions, video exhibits,
poster exhibits, Manga Pandemic Web
Exhibitions and the INMP general meeting.
Professor Syed Sikander Mehdi, Advisory
Committee member, emailed to the organizer asfollows:‘I visited the INMP sites to review the conference.
It is amazing. It was a superb conference. The
Organizing Committee managed to get a numberof video and article presentations on important
themes, organised panels on important issues andbeautiful cultural programs.’

Japanese drum performance

Young panellists in Webinar 4 (Youth Panel)

Ikebana performance by Ms. Ikenobo Senko

The Manga Pandemic Web Exhibition is open
until 25 December 2020 and submissions ofManga work, both professional and amateur, will
be accepted until 30 November.
The Online General Meeting was held on 18
September attended internationally by several
dozens of members and approved all agenda
items as proposed. It was decided to give Dr.
Kazuyo Yamane (Executive Board member) and
Dr. Roy Tamashiro (Advisory Committee
member) Special Contribution Awards, and toconfer on Dr. Ikuro Anzai (General Coordinator)
the title of Honorary General Coordinator on
January 1, 2021.

Rev. Clive Barrett, INMP’s Advisory Committee
member, wrote ‘They complemented each otherwonderfully. We spend hours debating themeaning of "Peace", and in these two videos somany of the components of peace are displayed.
The drum ensemble display excitement, energy,
activism, community teamwork for change. The
flower arrangement speaks to me of theimportance of each individual, reflection,
stillness, order, appreciation of natural beauty.
But drumming and flower-arranging givedifferent dimensions of "harmony". They show
the breadth and diversity of "Peace".’2

nourish peace for tomorrow.
Sowing Peace
During the Pandemic
Approaching the Reality of the War
After 75 Years

Hidefumi Terasawa: Director of theMemorial Museum for Agricultural
Emigrants to Manchuria

Tamotsu Asakawa: Director of
Yamanashi Peace Museum

COVID-19 pandemic has brought asignificant impact on the museum, which had tocancel almost all group reservation in March andtemporarily close for two months in April andMay. However, in fall, because of the limited
traveling of going outside the resident
prefectures, an increasing number of schools
within Nagano Prefecture have chosen themuseum as one of the destinations for theirschool excursions. As a result, more schools
visited the museum in October and November
compared with the same months last year, andthe visitors were safely accommodated in the“seminar building” just expanded last year.
Actually, Nagano Prefecture, where the museum
locates, sent the largest number of Agricultural
Emigrants to Manchuria, and this was anopportunity for not only students but alsoteachers to learn about "untold history” that isoften difficult for us to face.

Yamanashi Peace Museum (YPM) has been
holding special exhibitions this year. "Reflecting
on Japan’s Handling of Post-war Issues” ranfrom January to the end of June, 2020, followedby "Approaching the reality of the War", which
is currently exhibited and will run until the endof February next year. With the aging of those
who experienced the war and the fading of thememory of the war in the society, it is becoming
more and more important to pass on the realitiesof the war and stories of the battlefield
experience.

Therefore, the panels introduce the stories ofseven citizens, such as Mr. Kinzo Zaihara, withhis experience of aggression of Japanese militaryat the Chinese front, the battlefield of the Leytewar, and the truth of “Five Races Under One
Union” policy introduced in Manchukuo, as wellas his journey toward friendship between Japanand China, etc. The panels also show the numberof war dead in Yamanashi Prefecture by region(most of them were from the Leyte war,
Philippines, and the Chinese front), and explain
the possible turning point to end the war, throughmany-sided exhibits and historical documents.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum
has remained open, and recently we have many

While we had unexpected surge of the students
visiting to the museum, we hope to see thiscontinue next year onwards. Actually, the total
number of visitors in 2020 is expected to beabout half of what it was last year. As a privately
owned and operated museum, next year will beeven more challenging for us. However, themuseum has to continue its efforts to convey thetragedy of war as well as the value of peace
through the history of Agricultural Emigrants to
Manchuria. We will work hard to sow and3

visitors from outside prefectures, like Tokyo andKanagawa. See also the attached newspaper
article.

photographs, followed by video presentation andquestion-and-answer session.
The members of the “Meeting for Reading
Testimony” continue their activity at the museum
once a month, but the other "Meeting for
Learning from Chukiren" has taken a break until
COVID-19 pandemic goes down.

Chukiren Peace Museum
Nobuo Seriza: Secretariat
The museum was closed for about a month inspring due to COVID-19 pandemic, but has been
open since then as we have relatively small
number of visitors.
In addition to a few individual visitors, on
September 7th, a reporter from Shanghai Oriental
Satellite Television's Song Kankan, Tokyo
Bureau Chief accompanied by a cameraman,
visited the museum for the third time.
Also 15 members of the "Comfort Women
Issues and Gender Equality Seminar", headed by
Ms. Haruko Yoshikawa (former member of theHouse of Councilors), visited the museum on
October 24th. The original plan was to have 30
visitors, but in order to take preventive measures
for COVID-19, we limited the number to 15. In
addition to Ms. Yoshikawa, Ms. Noriko Omori, alawyer who was the head of the defense team forthe "trial over comfort women", was also there.

Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels
Yukinobu Okamura: Curator
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, we decided toclose the museum temporarily for two months
from April 9th to June 9th this year. Considering
the goal of the museum, which aims to ensurethat anyone, at any time, can see the Hiroshima
Panels by simply coming to the museum, we arestill wondering if it was the right decision toclose the museum. At the same time, with thenumber of infected people increasing, we arealso not sure if we should keep the door open. It
is really tough to decide how to confront theinvisible risk.
With the temporary closure of the museum,
we have received about 5,000 donations,equivalent to 70 million yen for emergency
support from all over Japan and overseas. Also,
through the Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima
Panels Foundation, established in 2017 topreserve the Hiroshima Panels and renovate thegallery building, we have received about 6,000
donations, equivalent to 140 million yen alreadythis year. We would like to express our heartfelt
gratitude to everyone who has supported us inthis difficult situation.
In addition to our efforts to have more
visitors, we again realize the importance ofcooperation with those who cannot visit themuseum but want to support its operation. In the
future, we plan to strengthen our support systeminternationally by introducing online card
payment option to our supporter system,

At the request from the members of the"Seminar for the History of Showa Period",
Mr. Serizawa, head of the secretariat of themuseum, talked about "Chukiren" (association of
returnees from China) at their monthly study
session in Nyuzen Town, Toyama Prefecture, on
November 5th. There were about 15 participants,
who well prepared for the session by reading thememorial hall's booklet in advance. We had a
two-hour session, including presentation of4releasing virtual tour videos on the website, etc.

important issue. Since 2016, the "Committee for
the Preservation of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru"
which consists of experts specializing in various
fields such as cultural heritage conservation orwooden construction, has been discussing
preservation measures. We will promote the
Daigo Fukuryu Maru as an industrial and cultural
heritage to be preserved in the future, and create
opportunities to attract people’s interest in the
Daigo Fukuryu Maru by making the most of

NHK covered the online lecture by Saitama
University held at the museum

coming ratification of the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons as a tail wind.
We are planning to hold an online citizen's
lecture to commemorate the certification of the
Daigo Fukuryu Maru as a "Fune Heritage" at the
3.1 Bikini Commemorative Meeting in 2021. For
more information, please check the Daigo
Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall website.

Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall
Daigo Fukuryu Maru
Recognized as a "Ship Heritage”
Yusuke Hasunuma: Curator
The Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon)
has been certified as a "Ship Heritage" by theJapan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean
Engineers (JASNAOE). JASNAOE recognizes
historical, academic, and technologicallyvaluable ships and their related facilities as "Ship
Heritage", and the Daigo Fukuryu Maru wasrecognized as a rare wooden ship with a"Western-style transverse framing structure".
The wooden Daigo Fukuryu Maru was built
during the period of food shortages immediately
after the end of World War II, and was engaged
in deep-sea fishing. It was destined to be

Women’s Active Museum on War andPeace（WAM）

dismantled after its life span about 20 years, or toquietly decay on the seashore. However, becauseof its exposure to a hydrogen bomb test in 1954,
it has been preserved for more than 70 years fromits construction as a heritage for peace by
conveying the horrors of nuclear bomb.
Recently, there are structural distortions on
the frame of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru andpreserving the deteriorated engines is also an

Eriko Ikeda
Director Emeritus
The year 2020 is the 20th anniversary of the“Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on
Japan's Military Sexual Slavery”. There were anumber of commemorative events in Japan andabroad, and this final month marks the peak of5

these events. At wam, we have been busy
preparing panels for the special exhibition called"The Emperor's Responsibility and Voices
Against Forgetfulness: 20 Years after the
Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on
Japan's Military Sexual Slavery", which has
started from December 12th.
Looking back on the past 20 years, I feel amixed emotion. There is a worldwide growing
movement by women who are trying to bringjustice to the wartime sexual violence in theircountries, as well as accuse violence against
women by #MeToo movement, which can beassociated with the time when the womensurvivors of Japan’s military sexual violence
courageously began to speak out. In 2018, theNobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dr. Denis
Mukwege (Congo) and Ms. Nadia Murad (Iraq)
for their efforts to eradicate wartime sexual
violence against women and devotedly assist
survivors.
However, in Japan, a united backlash fromgovernment and people against the country’s
responsibility for so-called "comfort women"
issue is gaining momentum. The survivors in
Asian countries who have been demanding theJapanese government to acknowledge the facts
and make an official apology and compensation,
are now aged and we shock to hear about their
passing away. On the other hand, the Japanese
government has insisted that "comfort womenare not sex slaves", "there is no evidence offorced recruitment" and "Japan has no legal
responsibility", while online right-wingers called"Netouyo" and right-wing groups, often
inflaming hated speech, have repeatedly
slandered and attacked supporters of womensurvivors. The media fails to monitor andcriticize these actions by giving way to somepeer pressure and ends up making "comfort
women" issue as a taboo subject.
In December, 2000, when the verdict wasread out at the Women's Tribunal, whichindicated that the Emperor Hirohito was guilty
and that the Japanese government was
responsible for that, women survivors from allover the world hugged each other with great
emotion, saying, "Justice has finally beenachieved!”. When I think of their faces andexpressions at that time, I feel pain and regret.
In this special exhibition at wam, we willreflect on the issue of Japan's failure to hold theemperor’s responsibility during post-war period,
while also highlighting the voices of the people
who have continued to question the emperor's
responsibility for the war. We look forward to
your visit.

Portraits of Japanese military officials who were foundguilty by the Women's International War Crimes Tribunal
and photographs of the women survivors who weredelighted by the verdict. The full text of the verdict
translated into Japanese is also displayed at the permanent
exhibition.

Peace Aichi
Daisuke Miyahara: Director
We closed the museum in April and May
this year due to COVID-19 pandemic and held
the special exhibition titled "Dummy Atomic
Bomb Pumpkin―Citizen’s testimony of BombDropping Drill" two months later than originallyplanned (June 9th to August 29th, 2020).
Fragments of the pumpkin bomb (about 15
kilograms) dropped on Fukushima City were6

displayed, and an elaborate replica of thefragment produced by Peace Aichi supporters
was exhibited. The replica has since been shown
as a permanent exhibit.

Kyoto Museum for World Peace,
Ritsumeikan University
Kazuyo Yamane: Expert Committee member

The museum reopened on September 28th,
with shortened its opening hours. Please see thewebsite for details.
Due to COVOD-19 pandemic, we are holding
our permanent exhibitions on the website. The
following three web-based exhibitions are now
available on the museum’s website.
＊Web-based permanent exhibition: 20 museum
artifacts are displayed.
https://www.ritsumeikan-wpmuseum.jp/webexhibition/permanent/

The replica of the fragment of Pumpkin Bomb

The museum was closed for a month in
September for building improvement work.
The special exhibitions for October andNovember were "Children in War" and "War andAnimals"(October 6th to November 28th, 2020).
From the collection of the Hekinan City Archives
in Aichi Prefecture, about 400 menko (circular orrectangular pasteboard cards slapped down on
the ground to overturn other cards) played bychildren in 1920s-1950s were displayed. The
drawing on menko also reflected the sign of thetimes.
From December, "Peace Aichi 8th
Exhibition of Donated Artifacts: Passing on War
Memories" will be held (December 8th, 2020 February 27th, 2021). This year, 235 items
donated by 23 citizens will be exhibited.
We also have received large number ofapplications for the Post-War 75 Years
Project―Storytelling Volunteer from Post-War
Generation, and already started the training
program for them. The training will be conducteduntil April, followed by the on-site activity.

＊Web-based museum document exhibition: 18
items once introduced in the “Museum Dayori(Newsletter)” are displayed.
https://www.ritsumeikan-wpmuseum.jp/museummaterials/＊
The 133th mini-exhibition "Special
Exhibition for 75 Years After the War: Selected
One from Museum Artifact" and the activity
report by the on-the-job trainees at the museum.
https://www.ritsumeikan-wpmuseum.jp/mini133kai2/
From September 28th to November 7th, we had an
exhibition called "Radiation Images: Making
Radioactivity Visible.
Other Projects at the Museum①Autumn Special Exhibition "CITY&PEACE
Nanjing International Peace Poster Exhibition(November 14th to December 12th, 2020)②Mini-Exhibition
 131st: "Rohingya as Seen by Students’ Eyes”(November 2nd to 26th, 2020) 132nd: “Forced Chinese Labor and the7Mannin-kou (mass grave)” (December 1st to

event addresses the fact that the radiation

nd





22 , 2020)
136th: “Under the Same Sun: The Beginningof Japanese Immigration to Peru” (January
9th to 30th, 2021)
137th: "Student Mobilization― Search of
Tadao
Hayashi:
1943-2021",
incollaboration with “Kyoto Museum Road
Project”

exposure of the crews was concealed by thegovernment of Japan and the United States for 60
years, and that the former crews and theirfamilies have not yet received any relief.

Grass Roots House: Peace Museum“Bikini Day in Kochi” starting fromMarch 5th to 14th, 2021
Keisuke Okamura: Vice director &Executive Committee Secretary General of
Bikini Day in Kochi
On October 24th, 2020, the number ofratifying countries of the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) have

The event will be an opportunity for Kochi andreached 50, overcoming obstacles by the UnitedStates and other nuclear powers, which
Hibakusha and people around the world have
longed for. On January 22nd 2021, the ratificationof the TPNW will come into force, becoming aninternational norm following the Biological
Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons
Convention. This will be a historic moment tostart the second stage to move toward a nuclearfree world.

Japan, which have suffered from the nuclear
damage of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Bikini and
Fukushima, to send a message to the world about
the abolition of nuclear weapons and theelimination of nuclear power plants. We areplanning four events: a photo exhibition (March
5th to 14th, free of charge), fieldwork with former
tuna boat crews (March 6th, 6,000 yen forparticipation fee), a plenary session on "Bikini
Day in Kochi" (March 7th, 1,500 yen forparticipation fee), and two film screenings of"The Daigo Fukuryu Maru" and "Portraits of
Hibakusha in Kochi, Memories of Deep-Sea
Fishing 2020" (February 28th in Muroto City andMarch 13th in Kochi City, 1,200 yen for the
ticket) (See the poster). The plenary session will
also be available for online participation (1,500
yen for participation fee).

Encouraged by this historic achievement, we
will organize "Bikini Day in Kochi" in coming
March. The purpose of this event is to raiseawareness of the fact that not only the Daigo
Fukuryu Maru but also the crews of 270 tunafishing boats from Kochi Prefecture (1,000 boats
nationwide) were exposed to radiation due to thehydrogen bomb detonated on the Bikini Atoll by
the United States in 1954. Furthermore, this8

These events are part of “Bikini Day” in Kochi

In

addition,tocommemorate

the

25th
st

to investigate the radiation exposure of former
tuna fishing boat crews by hydrogen bomb
testing, and to work for their relief. We lookforward to many visitors from Japan and abroad.

anniversary of the museum on October 1 , weorganized a lecture by Mr. Yasuto Takeuchi, "Thereality of forced labor for Koreans in Nagasaki:
Questioning the denial of the history of forcedlabor", on October 4th , at the first attempt of onsite and online participation.

Oka Masaharu Memorial Nagasaki
Peace Museum
Noboru Sakiyama: Board Chairman
The museum has been open since June 9th,
taking preventive measures against COVID-19
as well as shortening its opening hours (10:00 am
to 4:00 pm). The number of visitors to themuseum from September, 2019 to October, 2020
decreased sharply to 1,028. We have managed tooperate the museum with donations from ourmembers.
On July 19th, we held the "5th Meeting to Talk

Himeyuri Peaec Museum

about Mr. Masaharu Oka", where vice president
Tomohiro Shinkai reported about his lecture,"The Life and Thought of Mr. Masaharu Oka",
given at the Presbyterian Church called “The Endof the Earth” in Busan, Korea on February 8th to
9th, and exchanged opinions with the participants.
We also resumed the lecture called "Let's Learn
Again! Japan's Contemporary History Course
Phase 1" and held its 5th session titled"Restoration of Soviet-Japanese Diplomatic

Katsumi Maedomari, Curator
The museum had to close for such a long period(72 days) for the first time since the opening
under influence of the declaration of a national
state of emergency for coronavirus pandemic.
2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of
WWII, so we expected more active mood torethink about the history. However, there arefewer opportunities to tell the story of the Battle

Relations and the Northern Territories" on
September 5th and the 6th session titled "Family
and Gender in Postwar Democracy” on
November 7th.

of Okinawa in this situation.
In June, a memorial service which is usuallyattended by 300 to 400 people was held this year
as well, but only about 20 Himeyuri alumni andmuseum staff could attend the ceremony toprevent spreading infection. Also, the museum
had to stop some activities such as an annual
seminar for teachers and explanation talk forvisitors in the exhibition rooms by museum9educators.

closed from March 22 to April 11, 2021, for the

In addition, since national schools’ closure fromMarch, almost all of school trips were cancelledor postponed. Even in this situation, someschools ask for an online program to give
students an opportunity to learn about Himeyuri
and the Battle of Okinawa. It would be the best
to come to Okinawa and visit the museum inperson, but it is encouraging for us to know thatsome schools are looking for opportunities tomuseum renovation.
Tel:098-997-2100 Fax:098-997-2102
HP http://www.himeyuri.or.jp
FB
https://www.facebook.com/HIMEYUIRI.PEAC
E.MUSEUM/

learn the history.
Also, through INMP and Citizens' Network's
online meeting, it became clear that we can havecontact with members of the networks even weare at different places, and it became an
important opportunity for us to consider the
possibilities for the future.
The Himeyuri Museum is now open with
infection control and prevention. Since themuseum's admission fee is the founding source

Attendance was limited at museum’s
memorial service (June, 2020)（Translated by Emi Karimata）
Impact on the Operation ofMuseums for Peaceof its management, the museum will face serious
financial troubles if it remains closed or thenumber of visitors decreases. However, themuseum staff members are trying to do their best
to endure the situation.
The renovation of the exhibition, originallyscheduled for July of 2020, has been postponed
to April 12, 2021. We are currently preparing forthe opening. We sincerely hope that by next

In July 2020, Ikuro Anzai (Honorary Director,
Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan
University) conducted a questionnaire survey on"The Effects of Novel Coronavirus Infectious
Disease on the Management of Peace Museums"
for 97 museums for peace in Japan, and got
answers from 62 museums (64%). All themuseums that responded were forced to close
temporarily due to COVID-19.

spring, the infection will have subsided and wewill be ready to welcome visitors with our new
exhibits.
It is obvious that all of similar facilities of ourmuseum are facing the same challenges,
including reducing activities and operational
concerns, but let's keep up and get it over!
Note: Himeyuri Peace Museum is temporally
10In 2020, 75 years after the end of the Pacific War

items and providing them to schools

and the atomic bombing on Hiroshima andNagasaki, 56% of the museums planned special
projects on various themes, but due to COVID19 they had to cancel, postpone or change thecontent.
In addition, 37% of the museums faced financial
difficulties due to a sharp decrease in admission
fees, donations, and museum goods sales
revenue, and several museums were forced to◆Conducting guide seminars using ZOOM◆Considering future virtual museums◆Providing questions on the website for quizzes
related to images and photographs stored in themuseum◆ Animating picture-story shows andstorytelling projects

consider closing.
In response to this situation, there were many
requests for stronger support for the managementof peace museums including countermeasuresagainst infectious diseases and guarantee offinancial resources. There were also voices
expressing their awareness of the importance of
cultural and educational projects, and a sense ofcrisis regarding the withering of memories of war.

are working on providing information andsending messages through the “electronic space.”

It has become clear that many peace museums

INMP’s Elections Were Successfully
Conducted in November 2020
Well-balanced New Governance TeamWas Born

With the spread of new coronavirus infection,
many peace museums in Japan have beenworking on the following measures.
◆ Producing a DVD about the exhibition
contents of the museum and lend it to schools◆Connecting with the line to exchange opinionswith people inside and outside Japan◆Utilizing video instead of sending a storyteller
to the school

By Ikuro Anzai: INMP General Coordinator
Following the historical success of the 10th
International Conference of Museums for Peace
as a virtual online conference in September 2020,
the election of INMP's board members was heldwith unprecedented vigor in November. For the
first time in INMP's history, electronic voting
was introduced for the 17 eligible candidates for◆Introducing the exhibition on Twitter, SNS,Facebook, blog, YouTube, and website◆Focusing on renewing the website◆ Rather than having visitors coming to themuseum, sending museum staff for on-site
lectures on peace◆Holding web seminars on peace◆Creating and renting a traveling exhibition set◆Digitalizing the photographs of the collection

the Executive Board and 15 candidates for theAdvisory Committee, with an average voter
turnout of more than 70%, including the mail-in
ballot held in Japan, the turnout of which was
84%.
The Nominations/Elections Committee coworked with the Kyoto Office to successfully
conduct the elections for the next term from 1
January 2021 to 31 December 2023.
11

[Advisory Committee Members]●Christian Bartolf (Gandhi Information Center- Research and Education for Nonviolence.
President, Germany)●Kathleen Cogan (LPC- Intern, Heights
Family Counseling, USA)
●Lucy Colback (Freelance writer, Hong Kong)
Lonnie D. Franks (Lighthouse Technologies, Inc.,
Executive Consultant, USA)
●Francis Patrick Hutchinson (Professor/Dr

Ten Executive Board Members newly electedconsist of 4 men and 6 women, with the regional
distribution of 3 from Europe, 2.5 from North
America, 2.5 from Asia, 1 from Middle East and
1 from Africa.
Twelve Advisory Committee Members consist of
6 men and 6 women, with the regional
distribution of 3 from Europe, 3.5 from North
America, 2.5 from Asia, 2 from Oceania and 1
from Africa.
Here is a list of new Executive Board andAdvisory Committee members.

●Mona Badamchizadeh(Museologist - Volunteer member andCofounder & Coordinator ofChildren's department of Tehran Peace Museum,

Organizational affiliations include Peace
Education Commission, IPRA, Editorial Board
Member, Journal of Peace Education, Australia)●Shannen
Johnson(LearningandEngagement Officer, The Peace Museum, UK )●Emi Karimata (Researcher, Himeyuri Peace
Research Center at Himeyuri Peace Museum,
Okinawa, Japan)●Kevin Kelly (Executive Director, The Dayton
International Peace Museum, USA)

Iran)
●Kimberly Baker (Chair, Living Peace Museum,Canada)●Clive Barret (Chair of Trustees, The Peace
Museum, Bradford, UK)●Akihiko Kimijima （ Professor of College ofInternational Relations, Ritsumeikan University,
Japan）●Jesper Mgagnusson （ Director of Fredens●Mari Chiemi Leilani Kumura (Student, ISI
Kyoto, Japan/USA)●Lomudak Okech (Coordinator, Community
Museums of Peace of the African Child Soldier,South Sudan)●Eva Rodriguez Riestra (Representing
Working Group for a Peace Museum forAustralia. Committee member; Architects for
Peace; Australia. Public Art Program Manager;

Hus (The Peace House, Sweden）●Iratxe Momoitio Astorkia (Director of
Gernika Peace Museum, Spain)●Munuve Mutisya (Director of the Community
Peace Museums Heritage Foundation of Kenya)●Satoko Oka Norimatsu (Director, Peace
Philosophy Centre, Vancouver, Canada)●Linh Tran (External Relations Manager, Thanh
Hoa Bamboo Association, Vietnam)

City of Sydney; Australia)●Erik Somers (Museum professional, Historianand researcher at the Netherlands Institute for
War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD) in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands)[Executive Board Members]●Joyce Apsel (Clinical Professor, New York
University, USA)12

to armed conflict". The Nuclear Weapons
Convention is a landmark move by UN member
states to outlaw the threat or use of nuclear
weapons and we welcome it and strongly urge
the nuclear powers and their allies who areturning their backs on the Convention to change
their nuclear security policies.
We also call for a change in the “nuclear
umbrella" policy of Japan, because theConstitution of Japan, the only A-bombed
country, is based on “pacifism," which demands
the minimization of armed dependence inresolving conflicts, maintaining security, andbuilding peace, which is incompatible with thesecurity policy that relies on US nuclear weapons.
The citizens of Japan under the JapaneseConstitution are expected to work and fight
together with the global movement of civilsociety including A-bomb survivors that
contributed to preparing for, enacting, andbringing the Nuclear Weapons Convention into
force, and the governments such as New Zealand,South Africa, Mexico, Austria, etc. that have
ratified the treaty.
The Kyoto Museum for World Peace at
Ritsumeikan University further endeavors todisseminate information on the inhumane realityof the use of nuclear weapons throughexhibitions and related projects, in cooperation
with the International Network of Museums for
Peace, the Association of Japanese Museums for
Peace of which the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Museum and Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
are members, as well as the Japanese Citizens’
Network of Museums for Peace, and here declarethat we will work even harder to achieve a
nuclear weapon-free world.

We welcome the ratification of the
Nuclear Weapons Convention
as a condition for its entry into force
Kyoto Museum for World Peace,
Ritsumeikan University
Director: Ａgo Shinichi / Honorary
Director: Anzai Ikuro
The entry into force of the Nuclear
Weapons Convention marks a turning point in
the history of nuclear disarmament.
In addition to prohibiting thedevelopment, possession, use and threat of use of
nuclear weapons, the treaty also prohibits"assistance, encouragement and solicitation" ofthe use of nuclear weapons. In other words, it
prohibits non-nuclear states from relying on the
nuclear weapons of the nuclear powers, the socalled “nuclear umbrella”.
“The accusation that the Nuclear
Weapons Convention is ineffective because thenuclear weapons states and their allies are notparties to it” is a blanket statement. It is true thatcountries that have not ratified the treaty are notdirectly bound by it, but the fact that fifty
countries necessary for the treaty to take effecthave ratified a treaty calling for a total ban on
nuclear weapons, taking into account the voicesof the citizens of the world who sympathizedwith the heartbreaking cries of the atomic bomb
survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki who werevictims of the actual use of nuclear weapons, hasa significant deterrent effect against the threat or
temptation to use it in actual warfare.
Already on 8 July 1996, theInternational Court of Justice, while reserving its
conclusions on the threat or use of nuclear
weapons in the event of an existential crisis of astate, issued an advisory opinion stating that “thethreat or use of nuclear weapons generally
violates the rules of international law applicable

November 8, 2020.

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Mahatma Gandhi by Pegge Patten
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