2000 Heiwa-no-tameno-Sensoten (the war exhibition for peace)

The Voice of Welcome
Last year the Japanese government rapidly brought about several problematic laws. The first law is Japan-U.S. Defense Guidelines that urges pacifist Japan toward a more active supporting role with U.S. forces in the region. The second one is the National Flag and Anthem Law that designates the Rising Sun as the national flag of Japan and Kimigayo, or His Majesty's reign, as the national anthem of Japan. The third one is the Wiretap Law which allows the police to eavesdrop on our conversation. Also, a Diet committee was set up to deal with possible revisions to the Constitution. The committee is now enhancing the possibility of reinterpreting the Constitution, especially its Article 9 which declares Japan's eternal renunciation of war and military strength. This trend outwardly promotes the chances of Japan's military acts to the other nations, and inwardly strengthens the restraints on the life of us. Last 1999 could be defined as the year Japan underwent a fast change toward a dangerous and aggressive nation again.
After the Meiji Restoration, the leaders of Japan proceeded to colonize Taiwan and Korea, implanting in Japanese people the contemptuous view on the peoples in Asia. It is widely known that thousands of Koreans and Chinese were massacred in the chaos caused by the Great Kanto Earthquake which had destroyed the Tokyo area in 1923. They were killed because of untrue rumors that they had poisoned wells and were setting fires.
Japan started an aggressive war against China in 1931, trying to put the country under their domination. The war had lasted 15 years since it broke out. During this aggressive war, Japan was also attacked by the allied forces. More than three million people were killed in Japan alone, suffering from such war horrors as the large air raid that attacked Tokyo area on March 10, 1945, the ground battle in Okinawa that broke out in March and lasted until September in that year, and the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August in the same year. On the other hand, Japanese people were “the attackers” who sent 20 million Asian people to the death. The war tortured both Japanese and other Asian peoples, taking off their dignity. It has been 55 years since the end of the war, but there are still many of those who have not retrieved their dignity and keep suffering from the aftereffect of the war.
This A.D. 2000 is the International Year of the Culture for Peace. It was proposed by UNESCO ( the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization ) and adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. It presents the transition from the “war and violence”20th century to the “peace and nonviolence” 21st century. We, the members of the War Exhibition for Peace, approve the idea and will act as the peace partner.
This is our 21st exhibition. We have a wide range of people as our members-high school students, undergraduates, freeters, teachers, office workers, homemakers, organization staff and the retired. This year's theme is “Handing over the memories”. How should we listen to the voice of the war generation? What should we learn from that? How could we hand down the war memories to next generation? What can each of us do now? Keeping these questions in mind, we are preparing for the exhibition.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the exhibition site and sharing with you the messages from both young people and the war experienced in today's Japan.

Chairperson of the Executive committee of the War Exhibition for Peace
Sadao Suzuki