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On 21 February, the Uwajima City Office was informed by the Consulate-General of Japan in Honolulu that it had received the following e-mail through the intermediary of the Consulate-General of Japan in Honolulu.

“In 2001, a nuclear submarine of the US Navy collided with the Uwajima Fisheries High School’s Ehime Maru off the island of Oahu, Hawaii, killing nine crew members, teachers and students. The Hokulea, a traditional canoe that assisted in the search operation, made a port call in Uwajima in 2007, carrying the souls of the victims. The city of Uwajima gave us a palm-sized peace bell to commemorate the event, but the place where it was kept caught fire and was destroyed. The 50th anniversary of the Hokulea is scheduled for 8 March, and Nainoa Thompson of the Polynesian Nautical Society is keen to have the Peace Bell displayed again at that venue. Can we receive it again? Associate Professor Vince Okada of Hawaii Pacific University, who is supporting the Hokulea, will be visiting Japan at the end of February.”

The Uwajima City Hall had no record of raising the bell. However, after hearing this story, we decided to give him a 4 kg bell, as we do not have a palm-sized bell to give him at the moment.　Associate Professor Vince Okada came to Japan on 3 March and visited the Tama Centre office, where he talked about the activities of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Peace Bell for about an hour and a half. He spoke for an hour and a half about the activities of the Polynesian Nautical Society and the Peace Bell. On the way home, we gave him the bell and a picture book.

　　　　

It has been decided that a 4 kg UN Peace Bell will be displayed at the United Nations Pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo in 2025. The exhibition of the bell was organised by Mr Kusunoki, a teacher at Uwajima Higashi High School, and the students of the International Club of Uwajima Higashi High School.

The bell was cast with coins from all over the world given by many supporters, and the ceremony was held at Kamakura Palace on 8 Feburaly. It was delivered to Uwajima Higashi High School to be unveiled to the people of Uwajima, who cooperated with us. Although it was a holiday, many people welcomed us and everyone rang the bell and wished for world peace. The bells will later be delivered to the Expo site.

NHK’s Matsuyama Broadcasting Station was also there to cover the event.

　　　

8 February 2025, A ceremony was held at Kamakura Shrine to mark the donation of a 4kg Peace Bell to be displayed at the United Nations Pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai World Expo. The bell was planned and proposed by students of Uwajima Higashi High School in Ehime prefecture, who were moved by the peace activities of Nakagawa Chiyoji

The ceremony began with a prayer of congratulation by the chief priest Koiwa, followed by the dedication of the Ootonomiya ritual dance by the shrine maidens, the purification of the bell, the offering of the Tamagushi by the representatives and the ringing of the peace bell by all the participants. The ceremony ended without a hitch with a greeting from Koiwa and a speech by Representative Takase.

The Peace Bell will later be brought to Uwajima to be unveiled to the students of Uwajima Higashi High School, and then displayed in the United Nations Pavilion at the Osaka/Kansai Expo.

　　　

On 7.2.2025, the World Environment Summit hosted by G Holdings Corporation was held at the International Conference Hall in the First Members’ Office Building of the House of Representatives.

Ms. Takase gave a speech at the end of the summit and asked high school and university girls from among the participants to ring the bell for peace and hope that it will lead to the next generation.

　　　

On 2 February 2025, Mr. Akiyama Yoshinori, Director of G Holdings Corporation, was invited to give a lecture on ‘Your “Peace Bell Activity” starting tomorrow’. Despite the cold weather and snow forecast, 25 people attended the event.

First, Representative Takase gave a speech and talked about the UN Peace Bell. Then, after introducing her own background, Akiyama spoke about how he met Takase and how he became interested in the activities of the association because he shared her passion for the organization’s activities.

During the workshop, the participants were asked questions about their attraction to Takase, how they met her, how they became involved in the association, and their own peace activities to date, and the audience became excited as each gave a presentation. There was also a presentation on how each participant thinks about her/his own peace bell activities through the UN Peace Bells, which made for an excellent study meeting.

　　　

On 23 November 2024, I gave a talk on the UN Peace Bell at the Japan Chapter lecture in the Tama area, in Tokyo. It was a cold day with a northerly wind, but about 30 people attended. After an opening address by Tama District Representative Kihara Yoshiko, Committee Member Hashimoto Keiichi explained how he first met the Association and our activities.

After that, I spoke about the origin of the UN Peace Bell and how it came to be, and everyone was surprised by the act of courage of Nakagawa Chiyuji. The participants were asked to ring the bell, and everyone rang it with all their hearts. At the end, they were presented with a magnificent bouquet of flowers.