Visitors to Peace Memorial Museum reach record 1.98 million in fiscal 2023, with overseas guests exceeding 30 percent of total number
Apr. 2, 2024
by Keiichi Nohira, Staff Writer
On April 1, the Hiroshima City government announced that the number of visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Naka Ward) in fiscal 2023, which concluded on March 31, reached a record 1,981,617 people (preliminary figure). That number, including a record daily high of more than 11,000 visitors near the end of the fiscal year, exceeded projections. Overseas visitors also reached a record annual high and accounted for more than 30 percent of the total visitor numbers. In fiscal 2024, ahead of the 80th year commemoration of the atomic bombings, the city will focus on measures to reduce congestion in the facility and to enhance its communication of the devastation caused by the use of nuclear weapons.
According to the city and the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, which manages the Peace Memorial Museum, annual attendance in fiscal 2023 was 222,871 more than in fiscal 2019, a year marking the previous high for visitor numbers since the museum opened in 1955. The number of visitors reached a record daily high of 11,146 on March 30. Overseas visitor numbers set new records in terms of both number and percentage, with 670,614 visitors making up 33.8% of the total.
In addition to heightened interest in the A-bombed city due to the summit of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations) being convened in Hiroshima in May 2023, international tensions arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other factors also had an effect on visitor numbers. Japan’s weak yen was also said to have provided a boost.
On the other hand, issues involving the large crowd numbers have also emerged. During the period August 12–14, daily visitor numbers ranged between 7,900 and 8,200 people, with wait times for long lines sometimes stretching up to two hours. As part of measures to reduce such congestion, the city began accepting online ticket reservations and sales on February 16. Starting on March 1, it initiated on a trial basis extension of the museum’s hours, by opening one hour earlier and closing one hour later.
Of the 10,311 people who visited the museum on March 31, 54.9 percent had used the online ticketing service. Explaining that the system helped cut peak wait times by half, the city said it believes “the measure has had some effect.” Sometime this summer, it plans to install vending machines for ticket sales.
The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, also located in Peace Memorial Park, experienced a total of 395,372 visitors last fiscal year, the third largest number since the hall opened in 2002. Shiro Tani, vice chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, said in a news conference at Hiroshima City Hall, “With the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing in mind, we will continue our efforts to communicate the true consequences of the bombing and the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on April 2, 2024)
On April 1, the Hiroshima City government announced that the number of visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Naka Ward) in fiscal 2023, which concluded on March 31, reached a record 1,981,617 people (preliminary figure). That number, including a record daily high of more than 11,000 visitors near the end of the fiscal year, exceeded projections. Overseas visitors also reached a record annual high and accounted for more than 30 percent of the total visitor numbers. In fiscal 2024, ahead of the 80th year commemoration of the atomic bombings, the city will focus on measures to reduce congestion in the facility and to enhance its communication of the devastation caused by the use of nuclear weapons.
According to the city and the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, which manages the Peace Memorial Museum, annual attendance in fiscal 2023 was 222,871 more than in fiscal 2019, a year marking the previous high for visitor numbers since the museum opened in 1955. The number of visitors reached a record daily high of 11,146 on March 30. Overseas visitor numbers set new records in terms of both number and percentage, with 670,614 visitors making up 33.8% of the total.
In addition to heightened interest in the A-bombed city due to the summit of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations) being convened in Hiroshima in May 2023, international tensions arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other factors also had an effect on visitor numbers. Japan’s weak yen was also said to have provided a boost.
On the other hand, issues involving the large crowd numbers have also emerged. During the period August 12–14, daily visitor numbers ranged between 7,900 and 8,200 people, with wait times for long lines sometimes stretching up to two hours. As part of measures to reduce such congestion, the city began accepting online ticket reservations and sales on February 16. Starting on March 1, it initiated on a trial basis extension of the museum’s hours, by opening one hour earlier and closing one hour later.
Of the 10,311 people who visited the museum on March 31, 54.9 percent had used the online ticketing service. Explaining that the system helped cut peak wait times by half, the city said it believes “the measure has had some effect.” Sometime this summer, it plans to install vending machines for ticket sales.
The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, also located in Peace Memorial Park, experienced a total of 395,372 visitors last fiscal year, the third largest number since the hall opened in 2002. Shiro Tani, vice chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, said in a news conference at Hiroshima City Hall, “With the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing in mind, we will continue our efforts to communicate the true consequences of the bombing and the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on April 2, 2024)
