ST JAMES, Jamaica — Montego Bay will become the stage for a powerful call for global peace this Saturday, July 5, when Peace Boat Voyage 120 docks with 1,700 passengers, including three survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings in August 1945.
Among the passengers is 84-year-old Ito Masao, who was just four years old and riding his bicycle near his home only 3.5 kilometres from the Hiroshima hypocentre when the bomb exploded.
Also travelling is 81-year-old Kuramori Terumi, a Nagasaki survivor who was sheltered behind her home with her mother and siblings during the blast. Joining them is 82-year-old Watanabe Junko, who experienced the black rain that fell after the Hiroshima bombing when she was just two years old.
The three will share their stories during a public lecture with 50 university students from across western Jamaica at the University of the West Indies, Western Jamaica Campus, on Saturday afternoon. The lecture, being staged in collaboration with Women of Western Jamaica (WOWJa) and will feature opening remarks by Her Excellency Shorna-Kay Richards, Jamaica’s Ambassador to Japan, and the Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Yasuhiro Atsumi.
Chair of WOWJa, veteran journalist Janet Silvera, said the event offers Jamaican youth a rare opportunity to connect with living history.
“These brave survivors carry a message that the world must never forget. Their testimony is not just a memory of war, but a call to action for peace and a nuclear-free future,” Silvera said in a release.
“As Jamaica celebrates its own steps toward peace and diplomacy, we are honoured to welcome Peace Boat to our shores. It is a timely reminder of our shared humanity, especially as the world approaches the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II next month,” she added.
The visit will also include a tour of the Nobel Peace Prize 2024 Exhibition aboard the vessel. Peace Boat, a Japan-based international NGO, has been working closely with Nihon Hidankyo, Nobel Peace Prize 2024 Laureate.
Silvera explained that Peace Boat’s Hibakusha Project has turned over 170 atomic bomb survivors into global ambassadors of peace since 2008, and noted that Montego Bay is privileged to be among 21 ports in 19 countries chosen for this historic voyage.
The Peace Boat Voyage 120 is part of the organisation’s ongoing campaign to raise global awareness of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. This visit to Jamaica further deepens the country’s cultural and diplomatic ties with Japan, while amplifying youth engagement on issues of peace and disarmament.