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Symposium held in Hiroshima to discuss media coverage of atomic bombings and peace issues

by Rie Nii, Staff Writer

A symposium titled “From Hiroshima to the World: The Past, Present, and Future of Media Coverage of the Atomic Bombings and Peace Issues,” organized by the Chugoku Shimbun, was held at the International Conference Center Hiroshima in Naka Ward on June 12. With the world as witness to the grim reality of the atomic bombings and the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant, about 210 participants listened closely to the symposium discussion on the importance of the media in delving into how human beings should deal with nuclear issues.

First, Keiko Sugiura, an announcer at the Hiroshima station of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), delivered a keynote address titled “Born in Hiroshima.” She said that through her work on a variety of TV programs about the atomic bombings, she has come to recognize the preciousness of life and the significance of each human existence. As a second-generation survivor, she said that “Hiroshima” has been her primary compass in guiding the course of her life at its turning points. She also recited poems written by Sadako Kurihara, Yukiko Hayashi, and others and quoted accounts of A-bomb survivors.

Ms. Sugiura’s speech was followed by a panel discussion with former Hiroshima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka; Yasuhiro Inoue, professor at Hiroshima City University; Ann Sherif, professor at Oberlin College in the U.S. state of Ohio; and Akira Tashiro, executive director of the Chugoku Shimbun’s Hiroshima Peace Media Center. The panelists raised various issues, including calls for reexamining World War II and the atomic bombings, questioning the U.S. nuclear umbrella, and challenging the myth of the safety of nuclear energy.

The Internet was highlighted as an important tool in enabling Hiroshima's voice and its media coverage to reach the world. One of the panelists also mentioned, “We must clarify what sort of society we seek to create after nuclear weapons have been abolished.”

(Originally published on June 14, 2011)

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