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High school students donate 72 copper cranes to City of Hiroshima

by Yuki Kuwata, Staff Writer

Seven seniors from the Hiroshima Municipal Technical High School visited City Hall on January 6 to donate 72 "peace cranes" made of copperplate. The city plans to use these cranes as commemorative gifts to politicians and ambassadors from overseas who visit Hiroshima.

The cranes are about 5 centimeters high and 15 centimeters wide. The students used copperplates of about 11 centimeters square and formed cranes out of the plates by bending and hammering with tools. Students in the Mechanical Engineering Program, who have been learning sheet-metal processing since April 2005, are engaged in making the cranes in class.

Two years ago, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba saw some pieces made by these students at an event held in downtown Hiroshima, and asked the school about the possibility of making cranes for commemorative gifts. The seniors of the current academic year started creating cranes last April. Their skill has improved over time and lately they can make a crane in 30 minutes to an hour.

Upon receiving the completed cranes, Mayor Akiba thanked the students, saying, "These cranes, imbued with the young people's desire for peace, are wonderful. I would like to present these to our important guests."

Ryusuke Furukawa, 18, handed a crane to the mayor on behalf of the other students, and commented, "We made these cranes one by one with our wish for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. It is our hope that they will fly off to the world to deliver our message."

(Originally published on January 7, 2009)

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