Peaced Out?
The number of visitors to the peace facilities in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park dropped for
the second year running in 2004 reports The Chugoku Shimbun (April 28, 2005).
The 1,065,029 visitors (a drop of 3.4% from last year)
to the Peace Museum is about a third lower than the peak
year of 1991 when 1,593,280
visited the museum. The museum has long been a prime destination for school trips from across the nation, but the number of
school groups has also declined over the past 3 years.
The fall in numbers has been attributed to factors such as the proliferation of "peace study tours" in Okinawa as well as
last years protracted typhoon season. The museum head is quoted as saying, "we can look forward to higher numbers this year as it is the
60th anniversary (of the dropping of the A-bomb)."
The number of people visiting the Hiroshima National Peace
Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims which opened in August 2002 has
dropped dramatically - by close to 10%. The Memorial Hall is described as "an effort by the Japanese national government to remember
and mourn the sacred sacrifice of the atomic bomb victims," and inevitably perhaps, "an expression of Japan's desire for genuine
and lasting peace."
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Whatever the political motives behind the opening of the facility, is an impressive and touching collection of
memoirs and photos of those affected and killed by the bomb that provides a highly personal perspective on an overwhelming and
almost incomprehensible event. However, although located in the same park as the museum, poorly publicized
and largely unknown, it attracts less than a fifth the number of museum visitors.
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The Remebrance Hall in the National Peace
Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims |
A promotion campaign targeting the Tokyo and Kansai areas is planned in July ahead of the 60th anniversary commemoration ceremonies.
Read the Chugoku Shimbun article here.
April 2005
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