Mini Hiroshima Nagasaki A-Bomb Exhibition held at Reykjavik City Hall, Iceland

February 21 - March 8 [Reykjavik, Iceland]

From Monday, February 21 to Tuesday, March 8, 2011, a mini Hiroshima Nagasaki A-Bomb Exhibition was held at Reykjavik City Hall. This exhibition was co-organized by the Embassy of Japan in Iceland and the City of Reykjavik and was the first A-bomb exhibition held in Iceland.

Exhibition items including about 20 photos and books, which were provided by the National Council of Japan Nuclear-Free Local Authorities when Mr. Katsuhiro Natsume, then Charge d’Affaires ad interim of the Embassy of Japan in Iceland (current Ambassador) met with Mayor Taue of Nagasaki in 2010.
The painting “Little Boy” created by Japanese artist Mr. Nobuyasu Yamagata who lives in Iceland was also exhibited.

Thanks to support from Mr. Natsume, the City of Reykjavik joined Mayors for Peace in November 2010. In his remarks at the Opening Ceremony on Sunday, February 20, 2011, Mayor Jón Gnarr of Reykjavik spoke on the city’s new membership in Mayors for Peace. He also talked about the city’s other peace activities, such as an annual candle floating event, held every August since 1985.

Mr. Natsume also delivered remarks at the opening ceremony and introduced messages by two A-bomb survivors that, “human beings should never start wars and never use nuclear weapons for any reason.” He thanked Icelanders for their efforts in holding a candle floating ceremony for so many years. He concluded his remarks with the sincere wish that a world completely free from nuclear weapons will be with us very soon.

This exhibition is expected to be the prologue to a full scale A-bomb exhibition to be held in Iceland in the future.

“Little Boy”by Japanese artist Mr. Nobuyasu Yamagata who lives in Iceland

(Photo credit: Embassy of Japan in Iceland and the City of Reykjavik)