Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum reaches 80 million visitors in 70th year since opening
Mar. 17, 2025
by Kana Kobayashi, Staff Writer
On March 16, the total number of visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Hiroshima’s Naka Ward) surpassed 80 million. This figure was reached in the 70th year since the museum opened on August 24, 1955, boosted by the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo).
The 80 millionth visitor was Rinon Shimura, 23, a café worker visiting from Tokyo with her family. She received commemorative gifts, including the exhibition catalog, from Yoshifumi Ishida, the museum’s director. She said: “I heard a survivor’s account of the atomic bombing when I was in junior high school, and I thought I wanted to learn more about it. I will talk to my friends about my feelings after seeing the lot of materials.”
The total number of visitors reached 70 million in September 2017. Although the number dropped in fiscal 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it increased again in fiscal 2023 and 2024, reaching a record high for two consecutive years. Last month, the annual number of visitors topped 2 million for the first time since it opened, amid a growing sense of crisis over the nuclear situation and an increase in the number of foreign tourists due to the weak yen. On the other hand, the museum is chronically crowded, and the city of Hiroshima is taking steps to alleviate the situation.
Mr. Ishida said: “We need more people to visit the museum to understand that nuclear weapons are absolute evil. We would like to enrich the exhibition to emphasize the devastating damage caused by nuclear weapons and their inhumane nature, as well as establish a new section for younger generations.”
(Originally published on March 17, 2025)
On March 16, the total number of visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Hiroshima’s Naka Ward) surpassed 80 million. This figure was reached in the 70th year since the museum opened on August 24, 1955, boosted by the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo).
The 80 millionth visitor was Rinon Shimura, 23, a café worker visiting from Tokyo with her family. She received commemorative gifts, including the exhibition catalog, from Yoshifumi Ishida, the museum’s director. She said: “I heard a survivor’s account of the atomic bombing when I was in junior high school, and I thought I wanted to learn more about it. I will talk to my friends about my feelings after seeing the lot of materials.”
The total number of visitors reached 70 million in September 2017. Although the number dropped in fiscal 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it increased again in fiscal 2023 and 2024, reaching a record high for two consecutive years. Last month, the annual number of visitors topped 2 million for the first time since it opened, amid a growing sense of crisis over the nuclear situation and an increase in the number of foreign tourists due to the weak yen. On the other hand, the museum is chronically crowded, and the city of Hiroshima is taking steps to alleviate the situation.
Mr. Ishida said: “We need more people to visit the museum to understand that nuclear weapons are absolute evil. We would like to enrich the exhibition to emphasize the devastating damage caused by nuclear weapons and their inhumane nature, as well as establish a new section for younger generations.”
(Originally published on March 17, 2025)
