Report Session for the 120th Global Voyage TIME FOR PEACE Project

On Sunday, August 17, while docked at Yokohama Osanbashi International Passenger Terminal, Peace Boat hosted a special onboard event, reporting back on activities held as part of the TIME FOR PEACE Project onboard the 120th Globao Voyage and inviting visitors to view the outreach edition of the Nobel Peace Center's Nobel Peace Prize exhibition onboard the Pacific World.

In addition to more than ten members of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers’ Organizations), whose work the exhibition honours, approximately 300 people joined the voyage to hear testimonies from the 120th Global Voyage, including both Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors as well as people affected by past and ongoing wars worldwide, and reflect on shared hopes and action for peace.
 

Nobel Peace Prize Exhibition: "A Message to Humanity"

The Nobel Peace Center's exhibition, "A Message to Humanity", features portraits of Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) and photographs conveying the reality of the atomic bombings.

First launched onboard the ship in April, the exhibition has already been viewed by more than 2,000 people around the world, including both voyage participants and local community members in ports of call visited throughout the voyage. During the report session, visitors were divided into small groups for guided tours of the exhibition.

TIME FOR PEACE Report Session

A special report session onboard the ship featured the premiere of a 20-minute film summarizing the project’s activities and impact, as well as an overview provided by Project co-director Kawasaki Akira.

The 120th Global Voyage brought together people from war and nuclear violence impacted communities around the world including Hibakusha from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a survivor of United States nuclear testing (downwinder), a young member of support groups for nuclear test victims in Kazakhstan, survivors of wartime sexual violence in Ukraine, and of chemical weapons attacks under Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. These participants were able to share their common challenges and trauma, as well as advocacy for their rights and for preventing others from suffering as they have. Their testimonies also encouraged other participants travelling onboard to consider how we can practically make the everyday choice for peace, not war.

Atomic Bomb Testimonies Around the World – the Peace Boat Hibakusha Project

In parallel, the Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World: Peace Boat Hibakusha Project also took place on this voyage. Four survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including one living in Brazil, gave testimony sessions and exchange with local groups in 16 cities in 15 countries around the world.

Two major outcomes were highlighted:

1. Conveying the true human impact of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and of global nuclear testing—both immediate and long-term—while calling for ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and strengthening the global movement for nuclear abolition.
2. Learning from past experiences together with people beyond generations and borders, and reflecting on concrete steps to build future peace.

Recommendations

Based on the outcomes of this voyage and discussions held with project participants, Peace Boat drafted a set of recommendations.

The proposals are divided into three parts:

1. Learning about and conveying the impacts of war
2. Building Societies that Prevent War
3. Dialogue to action

The full text of the proposals can be downloaded as a PDF here:
Japanese
English

TIME FOR PEACE Performance and Guest Appearances

At the finale of the event, Peace Boat's resident musicians performed the song TIME FOR PEACE, which was created as a collaborative project with Peace Boat participants during the 120th Global Voyage.

Renowned Japanese singer Kato Tokiko, who was in attendance at the event, recited the poem Hiroshima Ai no Kawa (River of Love, Hiroshima), written by Nakazawa Keiji, author of the manga Barefoot Gen, a few years before his passing. Her daughter Yae, also a singer and farmer, also performed her newly released song Inochi no Hi (The Light of Life), commemorating 80 years since the end of World War II.

Reflecting on Past Wars, Creating Future Peace

Even today, lives are being unjustly taken in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond. Eighty years since the end of World War II, the path toward peace may appear more difficult than ever. Yet, voices calling for peace are also rising more strongly than before.

Through these projects, Peace Boat reaffirmed its founding principle: reflecting upon past wars, to create future peace. The TIME FOR PEACE project will continue on upcoming voayges throughout this year, and together with participants and partners around the world, we will keep sailing toward peace.