National Peace Memorial Hall attracts record high 434,215 visitors in fiscal 2024 against backdrop of unstable world situation
Mar. 11, 2025
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, located in the city’s Naka Ward, announced March 10 the number of visitors to the hall in fiscal 2024, which ends at the end of this month, had reached 434,215 as of March 9, the highest number since the hall opened in fiscal 2002. As factors behind this increase, the hall cited a sense of crisis that peace is being threatened by an unstable world situation and the summit of the Groups of Seven industrial nations held in Hiroshima in 2023.
The number of visitors to the hall by the time it closed on March 9 exceeded the previous record of 433,912 set in fiscal 2018 by 303. This is 38,843 (9.8%) more than the 395,372 visitors in fiscal 2023. The number of foreign visitors was 149,562, an increase of 7,489 (5.3%) compared to fiscal 2023.
Among many people from home and abroad visiting the hall on March 9 was Peter Ashton, 27. He is from the United Kingdom and now studying at Doshisha University in Kyoto. He watched a video of a girl’s experience of the atomic bombing and said he was deeply moved and that such a tragedy must never be repeated. Masahiro Urushihara, director of the hall, said, “Against the backdrop of the tense global situation, more and more people around the world are hoping for peace. We will continue to make efforts to convey atomic bomb survivors’ personal experiences.”
Meanwhile, the number of visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in fiscal 2024 also broke the previous record, reaching 2 million for the first time on February 15. Both the hall and the museum are located in Peace Memorial Park.
(Originally published on March 11, 2025)
The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, located in the city’s Naka Ward, announced March 10 the number of visitors to the hall in fiscal 2024, which ends at the end of this month, had reached 434,215 as of March 9, the highest number since the hall opened in fiscal 2002. As factors behind this increase, the hall cited a sense of crisis that peace is being threatened by an unstable world situation and the summit of the Groups of Seven industrial nations held in Hiroshima in 2023.
The number of visitors to the hall by the time it closed on March 9 exceeded the previous record of 433,912 set in fiscal 2018 by 303. This is 38,843 (9.8%) more than the 395,372 visitors in fiscal 2023. The number of foreign visitors was 149,562, an increase of 7,489 (5.3%) compared to fiscal 2023.
Among many people from home and abroad visiting the hall on March 9 was Peter Ashton, 27. He is from the United Kingdom and now studying at Doshisha University in Kyoto. He watched a video of a girl’s experience of the atomic bombing and said he was deeply moved and that such a tragedy must never be repeated. Masahiro Urushihara, director of the hall, said, “Against the backdrop of the tense global situation, more and more people around the world are hoping for peace. We will continue to make efforts to convey atomic bomb survivors’ personal experiences.”
Meanwhile, the number of visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in fiscal 2024 also broke the previous record, reaching 2 million for the first time on February 15. Both the hall and the museum are located in Peace Memorial Park.
(Originally published on March 11, 2025)
