You should act and see by yourself. I think, “Action changes the future.”

Yes. There were three things that motivated me.
First of all, when I was an elementary school student, I saw small photos of the A-bomb and the mushroom cloud in my social studies textbook. I asked my homeroom teacher what kind of bomb it was. Because my teacher was born after the Second World War, she couldn't answer my question. That memory has remained in my mind ever since then.

The second was an article in my local newspaper, The Kanagawa Shimbun, in 1991.
JR Takashima Station was located here before the Minatomirai project, and wooden utility poles were used for railway communication.
On May 29, 1945, the poles were partially burned by the incendiary bombs. The newspaper described these poles with a photo as precious live war witnesses of the great Yokohama air raids.
As I lived close to the place, I went to see the poles. Then I found one pole with a note in a plastic bag attached to its back, saying "If you have to remove this pole, please contact me." Interested in the note, I contacted The Kanagawa Shimbun. They told me the address of an ex-JR employee and I could meet him.
He showed me documents of the war and told about his experience of the war, including the great Yokohama air raids. As a result, I wanted to learn more.

It was the Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots in Kagoshima Prefecture that I visited a few years ago.
I was most moved by their farewell notes shown in the displays. At the end of them, we surely see the word "Mother." I was deeply moved by the word, “Mother." Because they had only one-way fuel on their planes when they went on their mission, they knew that they wouldn't come back alive. It is hard to believe now, but I could feel there were such days.

Eleven years after visiting the Chiran museum, I learned about the project of A-bomb Legacy Successors through TV news. I wanted to become a Successor and checked for one year, consulting the Hiroshima City website.
The second recruiting period appeared eventually; however, I was anxious about the distance between Hiroshima and Yokohama. Worrying about that for a few days, I finally contacted the Peace Promotion Division, International Peace Promotion Department, Citizens Affairs Bureau of Hiroshima City.
I said, "I live in the Kanto area now. I'd like to know the procedure of the training to become a Successor." The person in charge explained to me in detail and said, "Don't worry if you can't attend all the training sessions. It will be all right as long as you have a strong will." The words gave me a supportive push and I made my mind to become a Successor.

I don't think the people who listen to the story of the survivor's experience are all active. I think some are passive. Some children visit Hiroshima just because Hiroshima is the destination of their school trip. Hearing the serious A-bomb story is tough for them.
So, I started my draft for this program with "Faithful Elephants," the story about poor elephants in the Ueno zoo during the war. Then I follow up with the A-bomb story. I think that telling the animal story first might be helpful to get children to listen, rather than telling the story of war first. I made my draft in my own way, thinking how to get passive people to listen to the story.

Of course, I want to tell the story to the younger generation who has their future ahead of them, elementary school children and junior-high school students.
I want to sincerely tell them that their home country had wars in the past. About the things I can't describe enough, I show them pictures such as keloid scars and burned bodies. Though people who see them might feel sick, I really hope that they understand how important peace is, through the pictures.
It has been 71 years since the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It was the far distant past for children. My challenge is to convey my message to them so they can understand it. Then hopefully, they will become interested, even a little, in the issues of war and peace.