After some empty seating at Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6, Hiroshima City acknowledges issues in guiding guests, managing traffic flow
Aug. 8, 2024
by Keiichi Nohira and Yu Kawakami, Staff Writers
On August 6, at the Peace Memorial Ceremony held by the Hiroshima City government at Peace Memorial Park, in the city’s Naka Ward, some seating for attendees remained empty. Meanwhile, some of the attendees watched the ceremony standing up, as they were unable to find seating. The city government has acknowledged there were issues involving guiding ceremony participants to empty seats, among others, and said that it “will work on improvements for next year.”
Of the seating for around 7,000 set up in front of the Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims, at least 500 seats on the west side of the venue designated for A-bomb survivors and bereaved family members remained unoccupied during the ceremony.
Typically, when seating for general attendees is nearing full capacity, the city has guided ceremony participants to the seating for A-bomb survivors and bereaved families. However, this year, there was only one entrance for attendee seating on the east side of the venue, with a walk-through gate for metal detection, due to enhanced security measures that had been put in place. In addition to the time it took to enter the venue, attendees were not allowed to cross the central pathway between seats from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m. due to security for important guests, which complicated movement by guests to the west side of the venue.
In the area of seating for general attendees on the east side, numerous guests sat on the grass or watched the ceremony standing up. Shinji Aoyanagi, 76, a resident of Saitama City whose grandmother and uncle were A-bomb survivors, attended the ceremony for the first time in five years but was unable to find a seat. Resting at the venue after the ceremony, he said, “In the past, I was able to enter the ceremony venue without any restrictions, but things have changed significantly. I’m tired because it was so hot.”
The city’s Citizen Activities Promotion Division said, “For next year’s ceremony, we want to review the issues of flow of attendees and allocation of seating.”
(Originally published on August 8, 2024)
On August 6, at the Peace Memorial Ceremony held by the Hiroshima City government at Peace Memorial Park, in the city’s Naka Ward, some seating for attendees remained empty. Meanwhile, some of the attendees watched the ceremony standing up, as they were unable to find seating. The city government has acknowledged there were issues involving guiding ceremony participants to empty seats, among others, and said that it “will work on improvements for next year.”
Of the seating for around 7,000 set up in front of the Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims, at least 500 seats on the west side of the venue designated for A-bomb survivors and bereaved family members remained unoccupied during the ceremony.
Typically, when seating for general attendees is nearing full capacity, the city has guided ceremony participants to the seating for A-bomb survivors and bereaved families. However, this year, there was only one entrance for attendee seating on the east side of the venue, with a walk-through gate for metal detection, due to enhanced security measures that had been put in place. In addition to the time it took to enter the venue, attendees were not allowed to cross the central pathway between seats from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m. due to security for important guests, which complicated movement by guests to the west side of the venue.
In the area of seating for general attendees on the east side, numerous guests sat on the grass or watched the ceremony standing up. Shinji Aoyanagi, 76, a resident of Saitama City whose grandmother and uncle were A-bomb survivors, attended the ceremony for the first time in five years but was unable to find a seat. Resting at the venue after the ceremony, he said, “In the past, I was able to enter the ceremony venue without any restrictions, but things have changed significantly. I’m tired because it was so hot.”
The city’s Citizen Activities Promotion Division said, “For next year’s ceremony, we want to review the issues of flow of attendees and allocation of seating.”
(Originally published on August 8, 2024)
