Princess Aiko’s Essay Moves UN Under-Secretary General: "Wishing for World Peace", Full text of Her Essay at Age 15

 

 

Her Imperial Highness Princess Toshinomiya Aiko, the only daughter of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, celebrated her 20th birthday on December 1.

Continuing from the previous article, I would like to introduce Princess Aiko's essay written five years ago at her graduation from junior high school. This essay then gave birth to a wonderful episode  four years later.

 

Wishing for World Peace

 

On a winter morning before graduation, I hurriedly walked through the school gate and looked up at the sky. The sky was clear and cloudless. How happy I was to be able to study at school every day, with my family watching over me, and my friends waiting for me. How happy I am, how peaceful I am. I looked at the blue sky and mumbled these thoughts in my mind. It was not until I visited Hiroshima on a school trip in May of my third year of junior high school that my consciousness changed drastically.

 

As I stood in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome, my legs suddenly stopped moving. It was as if I was there on that day, August 6, 71 years ago. Only the dome-shaped steel frame and part of the outer wall of the Atomic Bomb Dome remained. I had seen it in pictures, but I was shocked to see it in such a tragic state. At the Peace Memorial Museum, there were various exhibits such as the lunch box held by a child who was burnt to death, the damage caused to the human body by heat rays and radiation, and the aftereffects. I couldn't believe my eyes, wondering if this was what actually happened. I couldn't look at it with a normal mind. More than anything, I felt anger and sadness at the fact that the atomic bomb had taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Even if their lives were spared, they lost their families, their supporters, and their hope for life, and I wondered how they were feeling every day. I couldn't imagine.

 

The reason why I first felt as if I was there on August 6th, 71 years ago, must be because I could feel the suffering and regret of the people who suffered. This was a precious experience that can only be felt by actually seeing the place where the atomic bomb fell.

 

Two weeks later, U.S. President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima and said, "Together, let us have the courage to spread peace and pursue a world without nuclear weapons. President Obama folded two origami cranes with his own hands and left them at Peace Memorial Museum with his message. We too folded and connected a thousand paper cranes and presented them to him. In addition to our paper cranes, there were many other paper cranes that had been folded by many people who had visited this place, and paper cranes that had been sent from all over the world.

 

The "Peace Light" continues to burn in the Peace Memorial Park. It is a symbol of the wish to keep it burning until the day nuclear weapons disappear from the face of the earth. This light is lit at various events as a symbol of peace. As I stood in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, I could see the Atomic Bomb Dome beyond the Peace Light. Unlike the tragic A-bomb Dome that I had seen up close, the A-bomb Dome seemed to be protected by the deep wishes and thoughts of everyone wrapped up in the arch. This was the starting point for thinking about what peace is.

 

There is no one who does not wish for peace. That is why we often say "peace" and "peace" out loud. However, it is not easy to achieve peace in the world. Even now, there are many people suffering from conflicts in various parts of the world. So, how can we achieve peace?

 

The blue sky that I casually saw. However, it is not a matter of course that the sky is blue. We should not take it for granted that we can live without any inconvenience every day, or that we can live in peace without any conflict. This is because people during the war could not take it for granted. I believe that "peace" begins when we appreciate each and every aspect of our daily lives, each and every kindness we receive from others, and when we are considerate of others.

 

As the only country to have experienced the atomic bombing, we Japanese need to communicate what we see and feel with our own eyes to the world. Peace is not something that should be left to others, but something that can be built through the thoughts and responsible actions of each individual.

(End)

 

This essay later produced an unexpected development.

 

On August 12, 2020, Izumi Nakamitsu, the first Japanese woman to be appointed as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, who is committed to world peace, tweeted the following sentence before the anniversary of the end of the war.

 

“Peace is not something that should be left to others, but something that can be built through the thoughts and responsible actions of each individual.""I sincerely hope that in the not-too-distant future, a world without nuclear weapons will be realized and the 'peace light' in Hiroshima will be extinguished." From Aiko's junior high school graduation book, "Wishing for World Peace," given by Their Majesties. From Aiko's junior high school graduation essay, "Wishing for World Peace," given to Their Majesties.

 

Ms. Nakamitsu, who has been energetically working for a nuclear-free world, was quoting from an essay by Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress. In fact, the day before the meeting, Their Majesties met with Ms. Nakamitsu at Akasaka Palace and were briefed on the efforts of young people in the A-bombed city and the current status of disarmament around the world.

 

　At that time, Their Majesties handed Ms. Nakamitsu a copy of an essay that Aiko had written about Hiroshima on her school trip to the city.

 

Ms. Nakamitsu read Aiko's essay and was greatly impressed by her anti-war sentiments and strong will to seek peace, which probably led to her tweet the next day. For Ms. Nakamitsu, who has worked at the United Nations in refugee assistance and peacekeeping operations (PKO) and sweated on the front lines of these activities, we can assume that Princess Aiko's essay was an event that convinced him that the principles of the United Nations are spreading among the younger generation of the Imperial Family. Princess Aiko's essay moved the heart of the UN Under-Secretary-General.