August is a time when we reflect anew on peace and resolve to take action toward it, as we remember Hiroshima & Nagasaki, and the end of WWII. As part of their training program, ARI participants visit Hiroshima in the fall. Some time ago, as a staff member accompanying the participants, I attended a session where they listened to testimony from an atomic bomb survivor (HIBAKUSHA). I was serving as an interpreter. After the survivor’s testimony, the students asked several questions. Among them, a student from Indonesia asked, “What do you think about Japan’s acts of aggression against Asian countries during the War?” To be honest, I hesitated to interpret that question. However, I conveyed it nonetheless. After a moment of silence, the survivor replied, “We must reflect deeply on that.” That exchange remains with me to this day, and it is an important perspective I do not want to overlook when considering peacebuilding.
(I would also be grateful if you could read the ARI Peace Declaration, which was released last year to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. https://ari.ac.jp/…/asian-rural-institute-peace…/…)
