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Hiroshima Prefecture pursues vision of international peace hub

by Kiyoko Takahashi, Staff Writer

In fiscal year 2011, Hiroshima Prefecture will articulate its vision for the prefecture as a hub for international peace efforts aimed at advancing nuclear abolition and peace building in the world. By outlining this vision, the roles Hiroshima Prefecture should play will be clarified, such as collecting studies on peace issues and supporting activities engaged in by private organizations, including NGOs, so such measures can be put into practice by the prefecture.

To lay out its vision, the prefecture will form a committee of ten members, comprised of peace activists and intellectuals. Among other areas of study, the members of the committee will explore how peace studies materials can be collected and disseminated, how human resources can be nurtured, how NGOs and NPOs can be supported, and how messages of peace can be effectively conveyed to the world. The document will include such things as the ideal image of Hiroshima Prefecture as an international peace hub, the roles the prefecture should play, and the efforts the prefecture will pursue.

In the speech he delivered at the 2010 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates held in Hiroshima last November, Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki mentioned the need to articulate a concrete path to the abolition of nuclear weapons and fashion a new system for security that would replace nuclear deterrence. He also put forward the idea of enhancing the prefecture’s role as a hub for international peace efforts. In his platform for the gubernatorial election, Mr. Yuzaki included the aim of laying out the vision that he is now taking steps to realize.

(Originally published on January 13, 2011)

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