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Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Unveils New Exhibit Featuring Atomic Bomb Survivor Testimonies
New Exhibit Highlights Realities of Atomic Bombings Through Survivor Stories
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum has launched a new exhibit featuring powerful testimonies from atomic bomb survivors. This comes as global concerns rise, highlighted by the atomic scientists' setting of the "Doomsday Clock" to 85 seconds to midnight in January, warning of humanity's proximity to destruction. As the only country to have experienced wartime atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Japan seeks to renew its peace message. The museum's collection of approximately 22,000 items, including graphic photos and victims' belongings, provides a stark reminder of the human cost of such weapons.
Voices of Hibakusha: "Humanity and Nuclear Weapons Cannot Coexist"
The newly unveiled exhibit aims to convey the realities of the atomic bombing even more powerfully. Yahata Teruko, a survivor, urges visitors to "imagine an atomic bomb being dropped on your city. People, badly burned, struggle in pain and die." Another survivor, Arai Shunichiro, emphasizes that "the effects of the atomic bomb did not end 80 years ago. Even now, all hibakusha across Japan are affected in some way, as I have been." Strategically placed at the end of the museum's visitor flow, these testimonies are intended to leave a lasting impression, reinforcing the urgent message of peace and nuclear abolition.
A Message of Peace for Future Generations
Tani Shiro, a representative of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, expressed his hope that visitors, both domestic and international, will leave with a renewed commitment to peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. He stated that the exhibit is designed to convey the powerful wish of survivors that no one else should ever go through what they experienced. By understanding the scale of destruction, the museum aims to make clear that humanity and nuclear weapons can never coexist, reinforcing the crucial message for future generations.
*Source: YouTube: NHK World-Japan (2026-03-31)*
