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Junior Writers Reporting

Hiroshima volunteers have sent 1,984 books abroad

“Ties with the World,” a volunteer group based in Asaminami Ward, Hiroshima is involved in distributing picture books about peace and nuclear weapons to places overseas.

The inspiration for this effort was the group’s participation in a world conference on women that was organized by the United Nations and held in Beijing in 1995. Although the picture books they displayed at the gathering were written in Japanese, an American high school girl looked at the books on the atomic bombing and responded, “I didn’t realize the atomic bombing was so horrible.” As a result, the members of the group felt that people abroad weren’t very familiar with the horror of nuclear weapons and they decided to convey the reality of the Hiroshima A-bombing by providing picture books about it.

In the beginning, they asked Chinese students studying in Japan to send picture books with a booklet in Chinese to their homeland. Currently, they are offering books to visitors from overseas who have come to Hiroshima for meetings or trainings. As of the end of March 2012, 1,984 books have been distributed to people in 148 countries.

The leader of the group, Yukiko Shibata, 80, says, “Pictures books can convey their message, despite the language barrier. I want people in the world to know about the horror of nuclear weapons.” Because the activity involves some operating costs, the group is planning to seek support for the effort by soliciting the public to buy a book and donate it to their cause. (Arata Kono, 14)

(Originally Published on May 28, 2012)

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