Soldiers at a Self-Defense Forces camp in Hiroshima prefecture.
Photographer: Shiho Fukada for Bloomberg BusinessweekJapan’s New Military Might Is Rising in a Factory in Hiroshima
As the country rearms, the city of peace once again becomes a defense hub.
In the center of Hiroshima, it can seem like everything is named for peace. The main road, Peace Boulevard, abuts the manicured Peace Memorial Park, which features landmarks including the Peace Clock Tower and Peace Bell. Elsewhere in the park are the National Peace Memorial Hall and the Flame of Peace. All are dedicated to commemorating the victims of the first atomic strike.
A thriving industrial hub of 1.2 million, Hiroshima is the center of Japan’s pacifist movement, a powerful political force in a country that’s stayed out of armed conflict for more than 75 years. Beginning on May 19, the city will serve as the backdrop for a summit of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has family ties to Hiroshima, is hoping to build support for reductions to nuclear stockpiles. Yet just a short distance from the monuments to the dead—perhaps 140,000 people by the end of 1945—a different view of international relations is being manifested.