Koshiro Egawa/Faculty of Engineering, Nagasaki University
KOSHIRO EGAWA I am Koshiro Egawa, a first-year student in the chemical materials engineering course, Faculty of Engineering, Nagasaki University. I am from Funabashi city, Chiba prefecture. My favorite subjects are physics and world history. When I first spoke with friends in Nagasaki, I was surprised at how different the enthusiasm for peace education was between Nagasaki and Chiba. Back in Chiba, I only thought about “peace” for a few hours in ethics class of elementary school. But in Nagasaki, students visit not only the remains after the atomic bombing in the school in the city but also the Atomic Bomb Museum many times to learn about peace.
What I would most like to achieve as part of activities of the Nagasaki Youth Delegation is to encourage junior high and high school students, especially those from the Kanto region, who have received little peace education, to visit Nagasaki, to tour the Atomic Bomb Museum, and to share their impressions. To share their ideas with others will create an opportunity for them to think about peace. There are unlimited number of things that the Nagasaki Youth Delegation can do to help realize peace. I will do my best. Thank you very much.
Maho Kaneko / School of Medicine, Nagasaki University
MAHO KANEKO Hello! I am Kaneko Maho, a freshman at Nagasaki university. I was born and grew up in Hiroshima. Through my school life in Hiroshima, I have got a lot of peace education. However, after graduating from high school, I felt I would not have a chance to do something for peace anymore because I had no confidence to do it only by myself. In the meantime, I found this Nagasaki Youth Delegation. Now, as a member of Nagasaki Youth Delegation, I want to dedicate myself to the world peace using my experience.
In the activities of the Delegation , I want to cherish the importance of “sharing.” I want to share with the world in my words the thoughts I inherited from Hiroshima and those I inherited from Nagasaki. I am looking forward to meeting you and sharing your thoughts and mine.
Sakura Kawabe / Graduate School of Engineering, Nagasaki University
SAKURA KAWABEMy name is Sakura Kawabe, a first-year student at the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagasaki University. I am from Fukuoka Prefecture and started living in Nagasaki when I entered university. I took peace education classes, but I never thought about war and nuclear issues as my own questions. They were somewhere far away and in the past. However, in the face of the Russian military invasion against Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I have realized that war and nuclear issues are happening now, that there are many people living next to death, and that a state without war is not something to be taken for granted. The reason why I decided to join the Nagasaki Youth Delegation was there is knowledge and information that can be obtained and conveyed only by students studying in the A-bombed cities. It is our mission as students in Nagasaki to convey peace from Nagasaki to the rest of the world. I would like to create opportunities to lower the hurdles to peace activities for all. At the same time, I would like to actively communicate peace to the world while deepening my own knowledge and thoughts.
Mayo Kobayashi / School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagasaki University
MAYO KOBAYASHINice to meet you. My name is Mayo Kobayashi. I am in my first year of School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagasaki University. As I am from Hyogo, not from Nagasaki, I don’t know much about nuclear weapons except what I learned from textbooks and on a peace study trip to Hiroshima. Therefore, after coming to Nagasaki, I felt a gap of knowledge regarding nuclear weapons between the students here in Nagasaki and myself. However, I learned in a class how terrifying war and atomic bombs are to think that I would like to and should learn more about nuclear weapons. We are entering an era when it is no longer possible to hear the voices of atomic bomb survivors. Now that war is being waged in Palestine, it is important for all people to think more closely about war and the nuclear weapons as their own issues. As young people, we need to carry on the will of the atomic bomb survivors and to advocate for peace. I would like to learn about the nuclear weapons issues in depth and to acquire knowledge as a university student who wishes for peace not only in Nagasaki Prefecture but also from other prefectures and the world.
Chinami Hirabayashi / Graduate School of Education, Nagasaki University
CHINAMI HIRABAYASHI Hello everyone. I am Chinami Hirabayashi, a first-year student in the Graduate School of Education at Nagasaki University. I was a member of the 11th Nagasaki Youth Delegation and now I continue to be a member as the 12th Nagasaki Youth Delegation. I was born and raised in Nagasaki as a grandchild of atomic bomb victim.
Last year I worked as a 11th Delegation member to abolish nuclear weapons and make sure that Nagasaki is the last place on Earth to suffer an atomic bombing. Through the activities, I realized that there are people who listen to us young people working in the A-bombed cities and that an aspiration for peace is common throughout the world. That means the activities of the Nagasaki Youth Delegation have great significance both in Japan and abroad.
Through such wonderful experiences, I decided to continue to do something that only youths of Nagasaki can do. As a member of the 12th Nagasaki Youth Delegation, I would like to listen to the voices of Nagasaki and work together with the people of Nagasaki to make a nuclear weapon free world. I will fulfill the responsibility the Nagasaki Youth Delegation 12th with other members.
Kimiko Hirose / Graduate School of Engineering, Nagasaki University
KIMIKO HIROSE My name is Kimiko Hirose, a first-year student at the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagasaki University. I was born in Fukuoka Prefecture and came to Nagasaki when I entered university.
When I was in elementary school, I received peace education in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, and was shocked to learn that the atomic bomb was first planned to be dropped on the city. Later, I participated in TEDxDejima as an organizer, which gave me an opportunity to think about peace. I realized that those who dropped the bombs also suffered, and that we need to make an effort to understand them from different perspectives from mine. I applied for the Nagasaki Youth Delegation because I would like to deepen my knowledge of peace that I learned in the past here in Nagasaki.
Through the activities of the Nagasaki Youth Delegation, I would like to learn about the history of nuclear issues in the world and share what I learn and think. I believe that it is a small step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, and that it is essential that as many people as possible become interested in these issues. I will continue to work toward this goal while considering what needs to be done.
Tomoha Fukuura / Faculty of Engineering, Nagasaki University
TOMOHA FUKUURAHello everyone. I am Tomoha Fukuura, a first-year student in the Faculty of Engineering at Nagasaki University. I am from Fukuoka Prefecture and came to Nagasaki when I entered university. I have been interested in issues of peace and war since childhood, but I have never been able to take action myself. I would like to try something new at university, therefore, I decided to apply for it when I heard about the Nagasaki Youth Delegation . As I got to know people from various backgrounds at university, I noticed a difference in contemplating peace among people from Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and those from other prefectures. I want to eliminate this regional difference. In order to achieve this, through the activities of the Nagasaki Youth Delegation, I would like to create many opportunities for people throughout Japan to think about peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. Because I live in Nagasaki, I have many opportunities to listen to the stories of those who were exposed to radiation, and I believe that I can learn many things from them. I would like to share these real voices with Japan and the world.