Tuesday, August 09, 2005
JOINT KOREA-JAPAN CANDLE MESSAGE FOR PEACE
60 years after the end of World War II, in a summer filled with cries of
“Yasukuni!”, “Textbooks!”, “Takeshima!”, “Anti-Japan demos!”
500 youth from Korea and Japan join together to send a candle-lit
message of peace to Northeast Asia and the world
- Friday, August 12 - 18:00 Open, 19:00 Event Start
- Meiji Park, Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
- Candles to spell “Peace” in Japanese and Korean letters of 40m x 70m
- Photos taken by helicopter from 300m above available to the press
60 years after the end of the war, in a pledge not to repeat the mistakes
of the past, 500 citizens of Korea and Japan will join together to send
a candle-lit message of peace.
This event is organised in partnership by Peace Boat and the Green
Foundation of Korea, on the eve of a joint Japan-Korea cooperative
voyage for peace. Peace Boat has organised 49 voyages since its
foundation in 1983, but this 50th voyage is the first to be held in
partnership. Half of the 600 passengers onboard will be Korean, the
other half will be Japanese. The ship will sail from Tokyo on August 13,
and return to Nagasaki two weeks later after having visited Pusan, Seoul,
the border between China and North Korea, Shanghai, Nanjing and Okinawa.
Although 2005 is the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, deep problems
remain between Japan and Korea due to a lack of true recognition and
reconciliation over the past. This year, Japan’s revisionist textbooks,
Koizumi’s continued visits to Yasukuni shrine, the territorial dispute
over Takeshima and anti-Japan demonstrations have all caused controversy.
Peace Boat, through the candle-lit message event and the voyage, intends
to reflect on the war and the last 60 years, and to build peace for the
future together with the people of Korea.
The candle-lit message will be formed in Meiji Park by approximately
500 people - including 300 young Korean people who will have arrived in
Japan for the voyage. The message will include the characters that say
“peace” in Korean and Japanese and a huge “9”. This “9”,
highlights the importance of Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution, which
renounces war and the right to maintain armed forces, in peacebuilding
in Asia after the end of the war and in conflict prevention today. It is
also symbol for Asia that Japan will never again invade their countries.
Details:
Joint Korea-Japan Candle Message for Peace
Date: Date: August 12, Friday
Times: Park Opens 18:00, Event Start 19:00
- Candles will be lit, and the photograph taken at 20:00
Place: Meiji Park, Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. In front of the Nihon Seinen Kaikan
Photos: Peace Boat has chartered a helicopter to take a photo from the sky.
- If you would like to have these photographs for media use
please contact us in advance.
Speakers: Kayama Rika, Psychiatrist (invited)
Choi Yeoul, Director of Green Foundation (imprisoned in the
1970s-80s due to his pro-democracy activism in Korea, Choi founded
Korea’s biggest environmental movement on his release)
Kim Jiha, Poet
Event includes live music, traditional Korean and Japanese music and dance.
Contact:
080-5078-6464 (Nakahara Daini - Japanese)
090-9962-4891 (Rachel Armstrong - English)
Peace Boat Office:
Tel: 03-3363-7561 / 03-3363-8047 Fax: 03-3363-7562
Mail: http://www.peaceboat.org/english
Peace Boat was founded in 1983 by a group of Japanese students who were
angered by the Japanese government’s censorship of history textbooks
regarding Japanese military aggression prior to and during World War II.
They chartered a ship to travel to the regions of concern with the
objective of discovering for themselves the truth about Japan’s
invasions of Asian countries and effecting a people-to-people
reconciliation. Peace Boat is committed to establishing a global network
to support initiatives in the fields of peace, human rights and
sustainable development. During the last 23 years Peace Boat has carried
more than 25,000 people on 49 voyages to 90 ports in over 50 countries.
http://www.peaceboat.org/english
Posted by paularenson