In Spring of 2006、Japanese graduate students from Harvard University planned a trip to Japan and visited Hiroshima. They visited the Peace Memorial Museum, met with an A-bomb victim and spent a memorable time together.

I have created a home page, talked about my experience to people abroad using the tele-conferencing system and other means to relay my experience, but due to age and health, it is becoming difficult. But fortunately, it is really wonderful that the young people, our future leaders, are taking interest to learn the reality of what the A-bomb caused and come to Hiroshima to see and hear for themselves. I have faith in these young people to relay to the world the need for world peace.

"An Unforgettable Day" (a comment from a student)

On March 19, 2006, 38 students from Harvard School of Public Health came to visit Japanese Public Health sites on a one week 'Japan Trip'. Nine out of the 38 students came to Hiroshima from Kyoto on March 24th to visit the Peace Memorial Park and met Ms. Miyoko Matsubara, representative of the "Group to Convey the Spirit of Hiroshima". Ms. Matsubara talked about what she had experienced on the day the A-bomb was dropped, how much she suffered from the after effects and how she was discriminated socially during her youth. She gave her talk in English.

Before coming to Hiroshima. the students had studied about the A-bomb and the aftermath but when they heard Ms. Matsubara's actual experience, they were shocked.

Ms. Laura Kozek who specializes in International Public Health spoke to Ms. Matsubara about her feelings of what peace meant to her in tears. After their visit, they talked about the impact Ms. Matsubara's talk had on them at a meeting with the rest of the group. Ms. Audrey Perlow, a specialist in the study of taking countermeasures in case of disasters, and who witnessed the September 11th terrorist attack on the Pentagon commented, "Ms. Matsubara not only showed us the scars on her skin from the A-bomb air raid but also the scars she received emotionally which takes a lot of courage. I will never forget her talk."

Students Visit Hiroshima and Listened to the Heartbreaking Story of a Hibakusha (Asahi Shinbun)

On March 26, 2006, 58 graduate students from 19 countries studying at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University which is known for sending out numerous prominent policymakers, government officials and enterprisers into society came to Hiroshima on the Japan Korea Joint Study Tour. They went to the Peace Memorial Park, met with Hiroshima City Mayor, Tadatoshi Akiba and an A-bomb victim. It was the first time for many of them to learn about the suffering of the A-bomb victims and to give serious thought to what should be done to bring about peace.

The Joint Study Tour group consisted of mainly exchange students studying in Japan and Korea and was planned for the first time. It was formed to learn more about Japan and Korea, the two countries that possibly may play an important role in future negotiations.

Mayor Akiba showed pictures of women with severe burns and of a dead mother with burns standing on one leg holding her child tightly. He appealed to the students to try to understand the agony the people suffered after the plane dropped the A-bomb on August 6th and said over and over again "No one in this world should ever suffer the same error committed by human beings in the past."

Ms. Miyoko Matsubara (73) representative of the "Group to Convey the Spirit of Hiroshima", talked about her experience in English. She concluded her talk saying, "We Hibakusha have very little time left. I take this opportunity to entrust you, our future leaders, with this serious problem that the same cruelty should never be repeated and to work toward achieving world peace. She received a standing ovation.

Andrew Nichols whose grandfather served in the US Military in Asia during WWII, said, "This is the first time to learn about what the victims went through and that they were discriminated socially in the past. From the political point of view, the issue of the A-bomb being dropped is not that simple but when I return to the U.S., I will tell my family and friends about this talk." One Korean student said, "This was a good experience to hear the voice of an A-bomb victim, but I would like for the Japanese to visit South Korea where the Japanese Military aggression caused tragedy. I would like for the Japanese to understand that WWII brought about tragedy on people of both our countries,

On the 27th and the 28th, the group will visit the President of Nissan Automobile Company, the Governor of the Bank of Japan, and the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Shinzo Abe in Tokyo and meet with the President of South Korea on the 29th.

A-bomb Tragedy Brings about Tears

On May 27, 2006, about 190 students from Harvard Business School (hereafter HBS) visited Hiroshima. They met the Mayor of Hiroshima City, Tadatoshi Akiba, who addressed the group and Ms. Miyoko Marsubara who talked about her experience as an A-bomb victim. After the talks, the group visited the Peace Memorial Museum.

This visit to Hiroshima was scheduled as part of the HBS 2006 Japan Trip. Nationalities, age, educational background, religion, and occupations before entering HBS varied. Although every student knew about the A-bomb being dropped, their knowledge of WWII, the history of Japan, and the aftermath of the A-bomb differed, and the students from Japan who organized the tour felt rather uneasy.

But it proved to be groundless.

The students are known to be studious, energetic, competitive, and talk to each other very cheerfully, but on this day, very few spoke. They went through the museum looking at each item and reading the explanations carefully. Furthermore, when they listened to the City Mayor's address and Ms. Matsubara's talk about her disastrous experience, it was moving to see the students listening with eyes filled with tears,

The following are comments made by students after their visit to Hiroshima. "Of course we learned about the A-bomb being dropped in our history class, but I feel ashamed that until today, I realize how little I knew of the actual disaster.", "I was floored hearing about the disaster the A-bomb caused.", "I really respect and I am grateful to Ms. Matsubara for telling us about her experience because if I were in her position I would not want to remember the incident nor speak about it" . The majority mentioned, "We never realized so many victims are still suffering from the aftereffects and that more people around the world should learn the truth." The students from Japan who organized the tour said, "As a Japanese, it is our duty to relay to as many people as we can the need to abolish nuclear weapons and to work toward world peace."

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the City Mayor, Ms Matsubara, and the staff of Hiroshima City Office for giving us, the HBS Students, this wonderful experience to deepen our knowledge and to seriously think about the necessity to abolish nuclear weapons.

In 2006, from March 1 till September 31, I have given talks about my experience as an a-bomb victim to 872 students from 32 schools including the 3 universities mentioned above.

Please click here to see the list.