NPO ANT-Hiroshima

About Us

ANT-Hiroshima is an NGO dedicated to building peace in the world by promoting Hiroshima’ s message of peace and reconciliation.

Working together from the A-bombed city, we contribute to creating greater peace in Japan and around the world, and we strive to achieve a world free from nuclear weapons, the earnest wish of the A-bomb survivors. We are an organization that values each person and nurtures human relationships. We work at a grassroots level with people locally and internationally, advancing our mission one friendship at a time.

Key Projects

Thanks to our friends in Hiroshima and around the world, ANT-Hiroshima is able to implement a number of projects and activities grounded in Hiroshima’ s mission. Here are a few key projects we are currently working on. Please see the “Our Projects” page for more information on ANT-Hiroshima’s work, and the “Get Involved” or “Donate” pages if you would like to contribute.

Hiroshima: Faces
We believe that the experiences of A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki must be recorded before they fade away. “Hiroshima: Faces” is a photography project that publishes survivors’ testimonies in booklets alongside portrait photographs. The works in this series have also been exhibited in gallery spaces in Hiroshima.
Hiroshima: Voices
We also believe that it is most impactful to hear survivors’ thoughts and memories in their own words. Similar to “Hiroshima: Faces,” “Hiroshima: Voices” is a video project that aims to convey survivors’ experiences. The short documentary films combine photographs, drawings, and footage of the survivors themselves, and are available for free on ANT-Hiroshima’ s Youtube channel.
Paper Crane Journey
“Paper Crane Journey” is a picture book that tells the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died of leukemia after being exposed to the A-bomb, and the children whose efforts led to the Children’ s Peace Monument. ANT-Hiroshima has translated the original Japanese version of the book into 35 languages, including English, Chinese, Korean, Dari, Nepalese, and Tagalog. These books are then donated to schools and organizations around the world, with the aim of conveying the courage and hope demonstrated by the children in the book to children now suffering from conflicts or natural disasters.
Cooperation for nuclear abolition
ANT-Hiroshima collaborates with various civil society groups with the goal of achieving nuclear abolition, including hibakusha organizations. We are a member organization of the Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (HANWA), Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, and a partner organization of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
A-bombed Trees
In the aftermath of the atomic bombing, it was said that nothing would grow in Hiroshima for 75 years. However, a number of trees endured the devastation and put out new shoots, and this evidence of new life gave courage and hope to the survivors. ANT-Hiroshima is engaged in education and preservation efforts for these survivor trees, and has worked to send seeds and saplings around the world as green messengers for peace.

Representative

Tomoko Watanabe, a second-generation A-bomb survivor, is the executive director of ANT-Hiroshima, an NGO in Hiroshima, Japan, dedicated to international peace-building through a range of grassroots activities related to peace, cooperation, education, and public awareness. She is also the co-founder of Green Legacy Hiroshima, which was established to safeguard and spread worldwide the seeds and saplings of Hiroshima’s A-bomb survivor trees. For over 30 years, she has pursued peace education and peace culture programs through her work with ANT-Hiroshima and activities involving Hiroshima citizens as well as others in Japan and overseas. As an ICAN partner, ANT-Hiroshima is engaged in various initiatives, domestically and internationally, to advance nuclear disarmament and abolition. Her work also extends to efforts that seek to promote international cooperation in conflict zones, disaster-hit areas, and impoverished communities in such countries as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Rwanda, Nepal, and the Philippines.

News

Please see our English blog for the latest news.