Visitors to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum reach 70 million, 62 years after its opening
Sep. 25, 2017
by Kazuaki Yamamoto, Staff Writer
On September 24, the total number of visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in Naka Ward, surpassed 70 million. The museum has been appealing for a world without nuclear weapons since it first opened in August 1955, 62 years ago. Commemorative gifts were presented to the 70 millionth visitor, Chiharu Hiraga, 41, a pharmacist from Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture.
Ms. Hiraga, whose birthday is August 6, the anniversary of the Hiroshima A-bombing, was visiting the museum with a colleague for the first time. After receiving a book containing photos and drawings of A-bomb artifacts on display in the museum, plus other commemorative items offered by museum director Kenji Shiga, she said, “I watch the Peace Memorial Ceremony on TV every year. I want to understand the terrible devastation caused by war and nuclear weapons, as fully as I can, and pass this on to friends and family members.”
Since 1979, more than one million people have been visiting the museum annually, and in September 2010, the total number reached 60 million. In fiscal 2016, the year that Barack Obama, then president of the United States, visited the museum, the figure was 1,739,986, marking the highest number in 25 years. In fiscal 2017, it is estimated that the total will decrease 3% compared to the previous year, though at the same time the number of visitors from overseas is growing at an unprecedented rate.
Although a global movement is seeking to ensure that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into force, international conditions have become increasingly tense over North Korea’s missile development program and nuclear arsenal. Mr. Shiga said firmly, “The damage wrought by nuclear weapons is still not widely known. We are determined to continue telling the world about the catastrophic damage that would result if a nuclear weapon is used.”
(Originally published on September 25, 2017)
On September 24, the total number of visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in Naka Ward, surpassed 70 million. The museum has been appealing for a world without nuclear weapons since it first opened in August 1955, 62 years ago. Commemorative gifts were presented to the 70 millionth visitor, Chiharu Hiraga, 41, a pharmacist from Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture.
Ms. Hiraga, whose birthday is August 6, the anniversary of the Hiroshima A-bombing, was visiting the museum with a colleague for the first time. After receiving a book containing photos and drawings of A-bomb artifacts on display in the museum, plus other commemorative items offered by museum director Kenji Shiga, she said, “I watch the Peace Memorial Ceremony on TV every year. I want to understand the terrible devastation caused by war and nuclear weapons, as fully as I can, and pass this on to friends and family members.”
Since 1979, more than one million people have been visiting the museum annually, and in September 2010, the total number reached 60 million. In fiscal 2016, the year that Barack Obama, then president of the United States, visited the museum, the figure was 1,739,986, marking the highest number in 25 years. In fiscal 2017, it is estimated that the total will decrease 3% compared to the previous year, though at the same time the number of visitors from overseas is growing at an unprecedented rate.
Although a global movement is seeking to ensure that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into force, international conditions have become increasingly tense over North Korea’s missile development program and nuclear arsenal. Mr. Shiga said firmly, “The damage wrought by nuclear weapons is still not widely known. We are determined to continue telling the world about the catastrophic damage that would result if a nuclear weapon is used.”
(Originally published on September 25, 2017)
