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Mayors for Peace to send seeds, seedlings of A-bombed trees to cities in and out of Japan

by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer

Mayors for Peace, for which Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui serves as president, will begin sending seeds and seedlings of A-bombed trees to member cities in fiscal 2014. This is part of the organization’s efforts to fuel global momentum for the abolition of nuclear weapons. In the first year, 66 cities in and out of Japan will receive seeds or seedlings. The organization will also start sharing fire from the Flame of Peace, which is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. These plans were announced by the city government in a special budgetary meeting of the city assembly held on March 13.

Seeds from trees that survived the atomic bombing will be sent to 16 cities overseas, most of them executive cities of the organization, including Hannover, Germany, and Akron, Ohio in the United States. The climate of each city will be taken into account in deciding which type of tree is most suitable and when the seeds should be dispatched. At the same time, seedlings will be sent to 50 cities in Japan. Applications from Japanese cities will be accepted starting in April.

Fire from the Flame of Peace will be provided to seven cities abroad and three cities in Japan. The cities have not yet been selected.

The Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, which serves as the secretariat for Mayors for Peace, also plans to send panels which offer an explanation of the tree or the fire. According to an official, the foundation hopes that peace events will be held in connection with the trees, and the trees can be used to foster a greater awareness of peace among the public.

As of March 1, Mayors for Peace has 5,912 member cities in 158 nations and regions.

(Originally published on March 14, 2014)

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