Bon Voyage, 117! Setting sail with 3 Hibakusha and 7 Ukraine Youth Ambassadors

Peace Boat's 117th Global Voyage set sail from the port of Yokohama on April 13, 2024. Travelling for 105 days through Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin and North America, this voyage will host two special projects: the “Peace Boat Hibakusha Project: Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World” and “Ukraine Youth Ambassadors.”

A press conference was held prior to departure, with remarks by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Japan H.E. Dr Sergiy Korsunsky, together with young leaders selected as Ukraine Youth Ambassadors. This programme is being organised in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine to Japan, for the first time on this voyage. Seven young Ukrainian students and professionals living in Japan will come together to share their perspectives on the current situation in Ukraine, give testimonies about their experiences of witnessing the full scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine firsthand, fleeing their homeland and starting new lives as displaced persons in Japan onboard the ship as well as to local stakeholders at various ports of call. Throughout the programme, participants will meet with those seeking peace around the world, broaden their horizons, and become forces for driving the future of Ukraine as well as become bridges connecting Japan and Ukraine.

Participant Yuliia Chekhovska shared her motivation for joining the voyage, stating that "as we travel around the world, we want to share our personal experiences in Ukraine and Japan, and let people around the world know about Ukraine. We hope that our voices will be heard to stop this senseless violence and loss of life." Fellow Youth Ambassador Adelina Lysenko also appealed that "in Zaporizhzhia, several missiles landed on the Dnipro hydroelectric power plant. Zaporizhzhia has Europe's largest nuclear power plant and the danger of direct attack or mislead missile is extremely high. That makes us all afraid that we could have second Chernobyl. I want people to understand the war in Ukraine more deeply and help us to stop this war as soon as possible. Traveling with Peace Boat, we will learn about cultures of other countries and what is currently happening in the world, and I would like to think how a more peaceful and better world is possible for everybody in the future."

Additionally, we also heard speeches from participants in the “Global Voyages for a Nuclear Free World: Peace Boat Hibakusha Project.” Since 2008, over 170 Hibakusha (survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) have participated in this project, giving their first-hand testimony of the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and sharing their message for nuclear abolition.  The programme is held in cooperation with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the 2017 Nobel Peace Laureate. This voyage will bring three Hibakusha (one from Hiroshima and two from Nagasaki) and two youth representatives (one from China and one from Japan/France), who were selected from a global open call, to 26 ports of call in 22 countries. They will together call for further participation in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and take concrete action beyond generations and national borders.

Tanaka Toshiko, who experienced the atomic bomb of Hiroshima at 6 years old, stated: "Nuclear weapons have not been used on the battlefield since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, we are now in a crisis, where Russia and others are threatening the use of nuclear weapons. We will appeal to the world in an honest way about how terrible it would be if nuclear weapons were used again." Asked about his goals in joining the voyage and travelling with the Hibakusha, youth representative Joel Naoki Christoph reflected that "many young people around the world believe that nuclear weapons are not a problem because they are not going to be used. But why are there so many nuclear weapons in the world if we don't intend to use them? I want to tell the youth of the world that it will be difficult to realise world peace as long as nuclear weapons exist."

Peace Boat believes that it is meaningful for Hibakusha and Ukrainian youth to travel together and appeal for the elimination of war and nuclear weapons at a time when the world is in such crisis. Throughsharing their testimonies, exchanging with communities around the world, and embarking upon this voyage of learning and expressing together, their voices will reach audiences throughout the globe seeking cooperation for a more peaceful, nuclear-free and sustainable world.