In Hiroshima survey, young people from around the world express shock over A-bombing
Sep. 9, 2015
by Rie Nii, Staff Writer
The junior writers from the Chugoku Shimbun, who have been pursuing reporting and other activities on themes of peace, carried out a survey of 1,031 young people who visited the city of Hiroshima from 50 countries and regions to learn about the atomic bombing. The survey posed questions on the atomic bombing, nuclear weapons, and peace. Many of the respondents said that they were shocked by the horrible nature of the A-bomb attack, which was more appalling than they had imagined, when they toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Naka Ward. Concerning a question on the biggest problems to address in order to create a peaceful world, the top answer overall was terrorism, with nuclear weapons chosen first by many young people in east Asia.
The survey was undertaken in connection with the 23rd World Scout Jamboree, an international gathering of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts which took place in the city of Yamaguchi from July 28 to August 8. They took part in the survey when they visited Hiroshima as part of the event’s “peace program.”
When asked their impressions of nuclear weapons after this experience of peace education in Hiroshima, many of the respondents wrote that the damage caused by the atomic bombing was beyond what they had imagined. One 15-year-old boy from Bangladesh said, “I knew about Hiroshima, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. I felt so afraid.” Some young people, like a 15-year-old boy from Sweden, expressed a desire to learn more by reading further on the subject.
At the same time, there were also different points of view. A 15-year-old boy from Indonesia said, “The Japanese started the whole war and brought disaster to Indonesia,” while a 14-year-old boy from the United States wrote, “It’s sad, but nukes were necessary to end the war.” However, a 16-year-old girl from Croatia said, “I now feel even more strongly that weapons of mass destruction should be abolished.”
In response to the question “What are the biggest problems to address in creating a peaceful world?”, the top three answers (the respondents could choose three) were terrorism, racial discrimination, and religious conflict. Terrorism was chosen by many of the respondents, regardless of where they live. Racial discrimination was chosen by more than half of the young people from Portugal, Colombia, and Peru, but was the choice of fewer people from Asian nations like Cambodia (0.0%), Hong Kong (11.5%), and Taiwan (22.2%). About half of the respondents from Belgium and Indonesia chose religious conflict as the biggest problem, but less than 10% of those from South Korea and Taiwan made this choice.
Nuclear weapons ranked as the fourth biggest concern, with high percentages from young people from Taiwan (66.7%), South Korea (50.0%), Hong Kong (46.2%), and Australia (also 46.2%).
(Originally published on August 13, 2015)
“I didn’t realize it was this bad.” “Nuclear weapons should be abolished.”
The junior writers from the Chugoku Shimbun, who have been pursuing reporting and other activities on themes of peace, carried out a survey of 1,031 young people who visited the city of Hiroshima from 50 countries and regions to learn about the atomic bombing. The survey posed questions on the atomic bombing, nuclear weapons, and peace. Many of the respondents said that they were shocked by the horrible nature of the A-bomb attack, which was more appalling than they had imagined, when they toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Naka Ward. Concerning a question on the biggest problems to address in order to create a peaceful world, the top answer overall was terrorism, with nuclear weapons chosen first by many young people in east Asia.
The survey was undertaken in connection with the 23rd World Scout Jamboree, an international gathering of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts which took place in the city of Yamaguchi from July 28 to August 8. They took part in the survey when they visited Hiroshima as part of the event’s “peace program.”
When asked their impressions of nuclear weapons after this experience of peace education in Hiroshima, many of the respondents wrote that the damage caused by the atomic bombing was beyond what they had imagined. One 15-year-old boy from Bangladesh said, “I knew about Hiroshima, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. I felt so afraid.” Some young people, like a 15-year-old boy from Sweden, expressed a desire to learn more by reading further on the subject.
At the same time, there were also different points of view. A 15-year-old boy from Indonesia said, “The Japanese started the whole war and brought disaster to Indonesia,” while a 14-year-old boy from the United States wrote, “It’s sad, but nukes were necessary to end the war.” However, a 16-year-old girl from Croatia said, “I now feel even more strongly that weapons of mass destruction should be abolished.”
In response to the question “What are the biggest problems to address in creating a peaceful world?”, the top three answers (the respondents could choose three) were terrorism, racial discrimination, and religious conflict. Terrorism was chosen by many of the respondents, regardless of where they live. Racial discrimination was chosen by more than half of the young people from Portugal, Colombia, and Peru, but was the choice of fewer people from Asian nations like Cambodia (0.0%), Hong Kong (11.5%), and Taiwan (22.2%). About half of the respondents from Belgium and Indonesia chose religious conflict as the biggest problem, but less than 10% of those from South Korea and Taiwan made this choice.
Nuclear weapons ranked as the fourth biggest concern, with high percentages from young people from Taiwan (66.7%), South Korea (50.0%), Hong Kong (46.2%), and Australia (also 46.2%).
(Originally published on August 13, 2015)
