Special Report LAST UPDATE November 22, 2005
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August 13, 2005 Departure of the “Peace and Green Boat” – Voyage for Peace and Friendship in East Asia
On a hot and humid day with a clear blue sky, the Peace and Green Boat departed from Harumi, Tokyo on August 13th amidst an enthusiastic atmosphere of family and friends wishing the participants’ fruitful days on the very historical voyage, co-organized by the Korean NGO “Green Foundation” and Japanese NGO “Peace Boat”.

Approximately 500 participants – half from Korea, organized by the Green Foundation side and half from Japan, organized by Peace Boat side – will engage in cultural, grassroots level exchange with people in Korea (Busan, Inchon), China (Dandong, Shanghai), and Japan (Naha, Nagasaki). “It is very historical and significant for citizens in South Korea and Japan to depart together and to be exposed to legacies of Japanese military aggression in the region during World War II” said Onodera Ai (Peace Boat) and Kim Sung-Min (Green Foundation) at the departure ceremony. Executive board member of the Green Foundation, Choi Yul, expressed high hopes for peace building with this voyage.

Joining participants from Korea and Japan were seven Youth Ambassadors for Nuclear Disarmament, hailing from France, China, USA, Russia, UK, India and Pakistan, along with one coordinator, also from the US. “It is such a great opportunity and honor for us youths from the Nuclear Power nations to get together here onboard. We look forward to exchanging views with people from South Korea and Japan. And we hope this experience will lead to the disarmament of our nations” said Youth Ambassadors for Disarmament.” In the midst of high nuclear tension in East Asia, the goal of the youth ambassadors is to call on regional governments to begin cooperative disarmament measures and build links with civil-society groups in the region.

Finally, Peace Boat director Yoshioka Tatsuya expressed his acknowledgement for those who helped make this voyage happen. He noted that building peace is NOT difficult only if we have a bit of imagination or room to think about others. He declared the departure of this historical voyage and also promised that they would create new peaceful history by overcoming the dark history and forging strong links of friendship and cooperation between people in Korea and Japan.

While at sea, a series of lectures, panel discussions and workshops open to participation and contribution by all participants onboard will focus on the strengthening and promotion of Article 9 (the Peace clause) of Japan’s Constitution, common history recognition, and the promotion of peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and the environment in East Asia.
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