Writer and Green Pioneer Konomi Kikuchi writes from Patagonia:

Congratulations! Bridges to Peace was covered by NHK world. This organization was founded by our friend, Naoko Jin in order to build a bridge for peace by delivering messages from Japanese veterans to war victims in Philippines.

Later she advanced her cause by organizing “Workshops to know the Asia Pacific War and to seek hints for a Future Approach” and by lecturing at universities.

Personal contact, connections, understanding and forgiveness, that is what we need to build a peaceful relationship.

Thank you Naoko for your tireless efforts.

See video: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/features/201510010814.html
Naoko Jin, Founder-President, “Bridge for Peace” says: “Bridge for Peace” was launched with little fanfare in 2003. It has entered into its 7th year of activities this year. I was a college student when I first went to the Philippines and met some of the victims of WWII. Later, I heard about a former Japanese soldier who was tormented by his own atrocious act during the war. These experiences led me to start a project of bringing video messages from former Japanese soldiers to the Philippines. I wrote about the origin of this project in detail in the essay, “Sixty years after the war – What can young Japanese generation do?” in 2005.

Since then, we have recorded wartime experiences of some70 former Japanese soldiers and 50 Filipino people. And we organized showings of these video messages in both Japan and the Philippines.

Related to this project is gatherings with former Japanese soldiers to listen to their experiences, where participants’ ages range from teens to 90s. We also held an exhibition of history textbooks used in Asian countries. Through these activities more young people joined our organization, and last January we obtained a status as a non-profit organization from the government. It is my hope that we will continue to expand our activities while reaching out to a diverse group of people and over many generations.

Continued at “Obstacle hindering mutual understanding between Japan and the Philippine on history”: http://www.us-japandialogueonpows.org/Jin%20on%20Obstacle.htm