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With coronavirus outbreak, Hiroshima City considers scaling down Peace Memorial Ceremony

(by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer)

On April 9, with the spread of the novel coronavirus, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui announced the city is considering scaling down the Peace Memorial Ceremony, which will take place at the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward on August 6, the anniversary of the atomic bombing, in order to avoid overcrowding. He will finalize more concrete ideas about the scale and contents of the ceremony by the end of May.

In a press conference, Mr. Matsui said the ceremony may lead to the spread of the novel coronavirus because the event is held in a crowded area where many will be in close contact. He said, “If the spread continues, we will ask many people not to attend or participate in the ceremony and will hold it.”

The ceremony draws about 50,000 visitors and participants from both Japan and abroad in their visit to the Peace Memorial Park. Mr. Matsui said, “At the venue for the ceremony, it is difficult to have people stay two meters apart from one another. We have to consider how to maintain that distance,” and he acknowledged that the number of people who can enter the park will be controlled.

The scale and contents of the ceremony are broadly concerned with sending invitations to the ceremony to the ambassadors of other nations, which is done around the end of May each year, implementing security measures, and procuring materials. For this reason, Mr. Matsui plans to prepare more concrete ideas, after evaluating the future spread of infection, and release those ideas by the end of May.

Questioned about whether the City might cancel the ceremony, Mr. Matsui denied the possibility of canceling, saying, “We would like to hold it in line with adequate measures.” He recognizes that the ceremony has various meanings, such as praying for the souls of the atomic-bomb victims, appealing for peace to the world, and peace education. He said, “This time, we will narrow down our target to praying for the souls of the A-bomb victims, and we would like to consider a way to hold the ceremony that will convince as many people as possible.”

The Peace Memorial Ceremony started as the Peace Festival in 1947, and it is held on August 6 every year. It was suspended just once in 1950 because of the Korean War. This year, the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, expressed his intention to participate in the ceremony.

(Originally published on April 10, 2020)

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