Japanese and American high school students gather for first time at U.N. to discuss peace issues
Sep. 18, 2016
by Keiichiro Yamamoto, Staff Writer
NEW YORK--On September 16, the first gathering of Japanese and American high school students to discuss peace issues took place at United Nations headquarters in New York. About 50 Japanese and American students took part in the event. While showing mutual respect for each nation’s position on the atomic bombings, the students shared the horror of the atomic bombings and discussed how they can help realize a peaceful world without nuclear weapons.
The high school students listened to the account of Setsuko Thurlow, an A-bomb survivor living in Canada, about her experience of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and discussed how the memories of A-bomb survivors could be passed on to younger generations. Reese Graham, 16, said that taking a first step is important, and that he plans to do that by sharing what he learned at the gathering with his family and his friends.
One Chinese-American student asked what Ms. Thurlow thought about the slaughter perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army during the war. She responded that killing others is always a terrible thing, then Ms. Thurlow and the student embraced in tears.
Hidenori Watanabe, an associate professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University, organized the event. He presented his effort to convey an overview of the atomic bombings to the world through the use of an app that enables browsing of old photos of the streets taken before the bombings and survivors’ accounts that have been superimposed on a present-day Google map. He said that young people find this tool more accessible, and that many students are lending support to this initiative.
Yuri Motofuji, 15, a first-year student from Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School, said, “As part of the younger generation, I would like to take on more responsibility for promoting a peaceful world, like getting involved in a signature drive.”
(Originally published on September 18, 2016)
NEW YORK--On September 16, the first gathering of Japanese and American high school students to discuss peace issues took place at United Nations headquarters in New York. About 50 Japanese and American students took part in the event. While showing mutual respect for each nation’s position on the atomic bombings, the students shared the horror of the atomic bombings and discussed how they can help realize a peaceful world without nuclear weapons.
The high school students listened to the account of Setsuko Thurlow, an A-bomb survivor living in Canada, about her experience of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and discussed how the memories of A-bomb survivors could be passed on to younger generations. Reese Graham, 16, said that taking a first step is important, and that he plans to do that by sharing what he learned at the gathering with his family and his friends.
One Chinese-American student asked what Ms. Thurlow thought about the slaughter perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army during the war. She responded that killing others is always a terrible thing, then Ms. Thurlow and the student embraced in tears.
Hidenori Watanabe, an associate professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University, organized the event. He presented his effort to convey an overview of the atomic bombings to the world through the use of an app that enables browsing of old photos of the streets taken before the bombings and survivors’ accounts that have been superimposed on a present-day Google map. He said that young people find this tool more accessible, and that many students are lending support to this initiative.
Yuri Motofuji, 15, a first-year student from Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School, said, “As part of the younger generation, I would like to take on more responsibility for promoting a peaceful world, like getting involved in a signature drive.”
(Originally published on September 18, 2016)
