Messages from 8,000 visitors at "Peace Seeds exhibition"

From August 1 to September 23, 2009, an exhibition about "Peace Seeds" was held at the Japan Newspaper Museum in the city of Yokohama and had about 8,000 visitors. Below are some of the messages the visitors left at the exhibition.

It made me want to cherish the earth.

(girl in the third grade of elementary school, from Kanagawa)

I realized that all the people in the world wish for peace. I think we, the Japanese people who experienced the terrible devastation of the atomic bombings, should try to reach out more to the world.

(girl in the second year of junior high school, from Kanagawa)

I was able to learn important things that I can't get from the pages of my school textbooks. I want to get involved in peace activities in my daily life.

(girl in the second year of high school, from Fukushima)

I was surprised at the fact that children the same age as me are producing a newspaper about things I didn't know about and didn't have interest in before.

(girl in the sixth grade of elementary school, from Yokohama)

I was very moved by the fact that high school students are covering such serious themes.

(male university student, 21, from Tokyo)

You're doing a fine job of creating a wide perspective, from the local community to Japan as a whole as well as overseas.

(female university student, 22, from Kyoto)

Though I was born in Hiroshima, there were things I didn't know and I had misunderstood. I think we have to understand the past correctly and we mustn't forget this tragedy.

(woman, 23, from Tokyo)

I enjoyed looking at the peace activities of these junior high and high school students. I feel motivated and inspired by them.

(woman, 26, from Tokyo)

I was impressed by the meaningful challenge undertaken by the students as they make use of Hiroshima's unique history and locality.

(man, 39, teacher from Saitama)

The students' strong wish for peace brought tears to my eyes. It made me feel that I, as an adult, have to live as a good role model.

(man, 48, from Kanagawa)

A notice in the newspaper brought me here from Hokkaido. I hope many elementary school and junior high school students will come to this exhibition.

(woman, 46, from Sapporo)

Peace issues are important in the Kanagawa area, too, including the U.S. military base, and these issues could be communicated more widely. I felt strongly that I need to learn more and get more involved.

(woman, 48, teacher from Yokohama)

I saw clearly that Hiroshima is viewed as the locus for peace in the world. The picture book made by the junior writers was particularly impressive. Well done.

(woman, 55, from Tokyo)

It struck me that such a newspaper can only be produced by people who think about peace with all their heart.

(woman, 58, teacher from Kanagawa)