Visitors to Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims in Naka Ward reach 5 million
Jun. 28, 2023
by Kaori Ota, Staff Writer
On June 27, the total number of visitors to the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, located in the city’s Naka Ward, reached 5 million. It took 20 years and 11 months since the opening of the museum due to the slow pace caused by the new coronavirus.
The 5 millionth visitor was Satoshi Kinno, 40, a company employee who traveled from Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Together with his wife, Yumiko, 42, he toured the facility after receiving A-bomb memoirs and catalogues from Masayuki Kubo, director of the memorial hall. Satoshi said, “I think it’s important to preserve the materials to convey the atomic bombing.”
The memorial hall in Peace Memorial Park opened in August 2002. It features photos and the names of 26,462 A-bomb victims (this number includes those without a photo on display), as well as 148,867 accounts of A-bomb experiences. It took two years and seven months for the cumulative number of visitors to rise from 3 million to 4 million, but it took four years and nine months to rise from 4 million to 5 million. The number of visitors dropped due to the new coronavirus from a peak of 433,912 in fiscal 2018 to 188,170 in fiscal 2022, when the numbers were still recovering.
Mr. Kubo said, “I’m happy we’ve finally achieved our long-awaited goal of 5 million visitors. I want as many people as possible to experience this facility.”
(Originally published on June 28, 2023)
On June 27, the total number of visitors to the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, located in the city’s Naka Ward, reached 5 million. It took 20 years and 11 months since the opening of the museum due to the slow pace caused by the new coronavirus.
The 5 millionth visitor was Satoshi Kinno, 40, a company employee who traveled from Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Together with his wife, Yumiko, 42, he toured the facility after receiving A-bomb memoirs and catalogues from Masayuki Kubo, director of the memorial hall. Satoshi said, “I think it’s important to preserve the materials to convey the atomic bombing.”
The memorial hall in Peace Memorial Park opened in August 2002. It features photos and the names of 26,462 A-bomb victims (this number includes those without a photo on display), as well as 148,867 accounts of A-bomb experiences. It took two years and seven months for the cumulative number of visitors to rise from 3 million to 4 million, but it took four years and nine months to rise from 4 million to 5 million. The number of visitors dropped due to the new coronavirus from a peak of 433,912 in fiscal 2018 to 188,170 in fiscal 2022, when the numbers were still recovering.
Mr. Kubo said, “I’m happy we’ve finally achieved our long-awaited goal of 5 million visitors. I want as many people as possible to experience this facility.”
(Originally published on June 28, 2023)
