Hiroshima prefectural government announces during Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly committee proposals for using Army Clothing Depot: Building No. 1 for peace study center, No. 2 to No. 4, cultural and tourist center
Dec. 7, 2023
Using it as facility to convey “history of military city” requested
by Yo Kono, Staff Writer
The Hiroshima Prefectural Government announced its vision for the future use of the former Army Clothing Depot during a meeting of the general affairs committee of the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly on December 6. The depot in Hiroshima’s Minami ward is one of the largest structures that survived the atomic bombing, and it has been nominated as an important national cultural property. Among the four buildings, building No. 1 will be used as a peace education center according the vision. Some members of the assembly said it should be utilized as a facility to convey the history of Hiroshima as a military city as well as to convey the horrors of the atomic bombing.
According to the prefectural government, a study committee involving the national, prefectural and municipal governments proposed using building No. 1 as a center for peace education, for example, as an exhibition room for A-bomb-related materials. Two proposals were made for buildings No. 2, 3 and 4. One suggested the buildings could be used as a cultural and artistic center for local residents, that would include a library, and another suggestion was to use the buildings as a lodging and tourist center for visitors from Japan and abroad, with the inclusion of a hotel.
Kenichiro Inoue, a member of Komeito elected from Naka Ward, requested the depot, which was used for producing and storing military uniforms for the army, be used as “a facility that can tell not only what happened on August 6 (the day of the atomic bombing), but also the story of the military city and its reconstruction.”
Seismic reinforcement to ensure minimum safety is expected to cost at least 580 million yen per building. The prefectural government plans to cover up to half the cost for the three buildings it owns with subsidies from the Agency for Cultural Affairs provided as the depot is designated as an important cultural property. At the meeting of the general affairs committee, the prefectural government revealed a plan to transfer one of the buildings to the city free of charge and to request the city government to shoulder a certain amount of the cost.
In response, Ietada Morikawa, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan elected from the constituency of Takehara and Toyota, said, “We should not stick to one building, but discuss the possibility of transferring all three buildings,” asking for further discussions on splitting the cost between the prefectural and city governments.
(Originally published on December 7, 2023)
