Hiroshima City government to prepare 7,000 seats for Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6, twice last year’s number
Jun. 3, 2023
by Keiichi Nohira, Staff Writer
On June 2, it was learned that the Hiroshima City government is preparing to increase the seating capacity for participants in this year’s August 6 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony held in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in the city’s Naka Ward, to about 7,000, twice the number of seats available for last year’s event. The decision was based in part on the downgrade of the coronavirus to a Class V infectious disease equivalent to seasonal influenza, in accordance with Japan’s act on the prevention of infectious diseases.
Before the pandemic, the city government would prepare seating for 11,500 ceremony participants. Following the spread of the coronavirus, however, the number of seats was reduced to 880 in 2020 and 2021, less than ten percent of the number used before the pandemic. In 2022, the city government increased the seating to about 3,550 after taking thorough measures to prevent spread of the virus.
According to several people involved in the preparations, the city government plans to increase the seat number to about 60 percent of the number that was available before the pandemic and, at the same time, leave a certain amount of space between seats in consideration of the heatstroke risk for the aging A-bomb survivors. In addition, for the first time in four years, the city government is deliberating on securing seating for another 2,000 people in a hall with air-conditioning at the International Conference Center Hiroshima and broadcasting the ceremony live to that group.
Last year, in the wake of the shooting of Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about one month before the peace ceremony, the city government and other organizations enhanced security measures for the event. For the first time, at the entrances to Peace Memorial Park, the city government conducted inspections of participants’ personal items with metal detectors. At a news conference in April this year, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui touched on the necessity of baggage inspections when he said, “We’ll adopt similar measures this year in making every possible preparation for the ceremony.”
According to the city government, on average about 50,000 people, including those without seating, attended the ceremony every year before the pandemic. Hiroshima has attracted increased attention from Japan and overseas due to the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations) held in the city in May this year and, as a result, a large crowd is expected to gather for this year’s ceremony.
(Originally published on June 3, 2023)
On June 2, it was learned that the Hiroshima City government is preparing to increase the seating capacity for participants in this year’s August 6 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony held in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in the city’s Naka Ward, to about 7,000, twice the number of seats available for last year’s event. The decision was based in part on the downgrade of the coronavirus to a Class V infectious disease equivalent to seasonal influenza, in accordance with Japan’s act on the prevention of infectious diseases.
Before the pandemic, the city government would prepare seating for 11,500 ceremony participants. Following the spread of the coronavirus, however, the number of seats was reduced to 880 in 2020 and 2021, less than ten percent of the number used before the pandemic. In 2022, the city government increased the seating to about 3,550 after taking thorough measures to prevent spread of the virus.
According to several people involved in the preparations, the city government plans to increase the seat number to about 60 percent of the number that was available before the pandemic and, at the same time, leave a certain amount of space between seats in consideration of the heatstroke risk for the aging A-bomb survivors. In addition, for the first time in four years, the city government is deliberating on securing seating for another 2,000 people in a hall with air-conditioning at the International Conference Center Hiroshima and broadcasting the ceremony live to that group.
Last year, in the wake of the shooting of Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about one month before the peace ceremony, the city government and other organizations enhanced security measures for the event. For the first time, at the entrances to Peace Memorial Park, the city government conducted inspections of participants’ personal items with metal detectors. At a news conference in April this year, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui touched on the necessity of baggage inspections when he said, “We’ll adopt similar measures this year in making every possible preparation for the ceremony.”
According to the city government, on average about 50,000 people, including those without seating, attended the ceremony every year before the pandemic. Hiroshima has attracted increased attention from Japan and overseas due to the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations) held in the city in May this year and, as a result, a large crowd is expected to gather for this year’s ceremony.
(Originally published on June 3, 2023)
