For a Nuclear Weapons Free World – Peace Boat activities in August 2019

Commemorating 74 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, People Boat will call at the ports of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, the respective anniversaries of the bombing in each city. These ports will be visited as part of Peace Boat's East Asia Voyage, travelling around Japan while also making visits to the Republic of Korea and Russia.

As an International Steering Committee Member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and a long time anti-nuclear campaigner, Peace Boat will carry out a variety of activities to call for nuclear abolition while in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During the visits to Korea and Russia, Peace Boat will further civil society activities for peace and denuclearization. This voyage will also make stops in cities in Hokkaido as well as in Ishinomaki, one of the cities most devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami which struck in March 2011, and where Peace Boat has based various disaster relief, recovery and community building support projects since. These visits will encourage participants to reflect on sustainable development and to learn about the conservation of natural resources as well as creating more resilient cities.

Voyage Overview

Duration: August 4 – August 23, 2019 (20 days)

Ports of Call: Osaka (8/4), Hiroshima (8/5-7), Kagoshima (8/8), Nagasaki (8/9), Busan (8/10), Kanazawa (8/12), Vladivostok (8/14), Otaru (8/16), Kushiro (8/18), Muroran (8/19), Ishinomaki (8/21), Kobe (8/23).

Overview of Projects

Akiko's A-Bombed Piano

August 6 will mark 74 years since the bombing of Hiroshima, and over 1,000 people will gather in Hiroshima to pay their respects at the Peace Memorial Ceremony while also visiting the A-Bomb Dome, the Peace Memorial Park, and Museum, as well as various buildings in the vicinity that survived that fateful day.

From 6:30 pm that evening, a concert will be held onboard the ship as it is docked at the port of Hiroshima, with performances featuring “Akiko's A-bombed piano” and “Mr. Palchikoff's violin.”

“Akiko's A-bombed Piano” was the piano of Kawamoto Akiko, a young girl born and raised in Los Angeles in the United States. She returned to with her family to Hiroshima in 1933 and became the proud owner of a piano. She was tragically killed by the bombing of Hiroshima when she was 19 years old, passing away the day after the bombing, on August 7. The piano was also damaged by the blast of the bomb and was left untouched for some time after the bombing. Later on, the piano was restored and has since been utilized as a tool for peace education under the supervision of the HOPE Project. Although Akiko did not survive, her beloved piano continues to be played in various events, its harmonies delivering a powerful message for peace. In collaboration with the HOPE Project and through the generous donations of many people, this historically significant instrument will be joining the East Asia Voyage for 18 days.  A violin which also survived the atomic bombing, beloved by Sergei Palchikoff – music teacher at Hiroshima Jogakuin, will accompany the piano on this journey.

Concerts arranged in Hiroshima and other cities throughout the voyage will be opportunities for people to reflect on the dark past and the catastrophic impacts of nuclear weapons, while also encouraging them to take their first steps as anti-nuclear activists. With every passing year we see a decrease in the number of surviving Hibakusha, but these A-bombed instruments are a way for the story of the Hibakusha to continue being told.

Youth Communicators for a World without Nuclear Weapons

Through various projects on and off of the ship, Peace Boat has continued to support young members of society in keeping the stories of the Hibakusha alive. Two youth communicators from Hiroshima, Ms. Ikeda Honoka (19) and Ms. Kobayashi Miharu (18) have been selected to join the East Asia Voyage. They will continue to tell the stories of the departed Hibakusha both at onboard events and also at events in ports of call.

Global University

40 youth from around ten countries around the world will gather to take part in the Global University Programme on the theme of 'Building Peaceful and Inclusive Societies Together in Asia'. Participants of this programme include students from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Japan, Kyunghee University in Korea, as well as students of various universities in the United States and throughout the Asia Pacific Region that are participating in the COIL-UMAP Joint Honors Programme. Students and young professionals from across Asia will come together to learn from the region's past and present, and to discuss visions and actions for a peaceful and inclusive future.

Hiroshima-ICAN Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security

Hiroshima Prefecture and ICAN will co-host the Hiroshima-ICAN Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security from July 31 to August 8, 2019. Approximately 15 youth participants from nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states will take part in this program. As an International Steering Committee Member of ICAN, Peace Boat is involved in the moderation of this program. Upon Peace Boat's arrival at the port of Hiroshima on August 6, the members of the academy will have the opportunity to meet with the participants of the East Asia Voyage.

Enquiries

For more information, please contact Rika Watanabe or Masumi Matsumura at pbglobal@peaceboat.gr.jp