History of Peace Seeds

G8 Speakers'Summit / Quiz on Hiroshima and the Atomic Bomb /
President Obama Invitation Project / Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

Strong wishes for peace

Peace Seeds has presented a variety of peace-related topics. We now look back at four topics that reflect the wish for peace of many around the world.

On September 2, 2008, the Lower House Speakers from the G8 nations, along with the Vice President of the European Parliament, visited Hiroshima and discussed "Peace and Disarmament." We interviewed Yohei Kono, Speaker of Japan's House of Representatives, and sent email to the other participants to ask their expectations for the meeting. We received a reply from every speaker. We also proposed that a children's summit be held in Hiroshima to discuss peace. This proposal was discussed by the participants during a lunch break and they agreed to cooperate for its realization.

Because we were concerned that the cruel reality of the atomic bombings would be considered a thing of the past and forgotten, we created a "Hiroshima Quiz" that consisted of 20 questions. We tried to devise careful questions that would encourage readers to reflect on the cause and background of the bombings, not simply test a person's knowledge. The quiz was available in the newspaper and on our website, and 1,067 people responded. The average score, though, was 64, lower than we had hoped.

In issue 40, we called on our readers to write letters to the new American president, Barack Obama, inviting him to visit Hiroshima. In all, we received 335 letters and volunteers both in Japan and abroad helped translate them into English. We then reported on our progress in issues 43 and 47. If our wish can reach President Obama, it hopefully won't be long before he comes to Hiroshima.

At both the 2007 and 2008 Peace Memorial Ceremony, held each year on August 6 in Hiroshima, we surveyed people in attendance. In 2007, we asked "What will you do to make the world a more peaceful place?" and we received responses from 64 people. In 2008, we asked "What kind of expression would you wear if you heard that nuclear weapons had disappeared from the face of the earth?" and we took photos of about 200 people smiling. Their smiles made us hope for the early realization of nuclear abolition.