Sister Park Agreement Signed Between Pearl Harbor National Monument and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Toward a New Japan-U.S. Relationship, Wish for Peace.

On June 29, 2023, in Tokyo, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi signed a Sister Park Arrangement between the Pearl Harbor National Memorial of the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior of the United States of America and the Peace Memorial Park of Hiroshima City of Hiroshima Prefecture of Japan.

It is said that the impetus for reaching this agreement was the visit of the leaders of various countries (including those of the nuclear weapon states) to Hiroshima, the site of the atomic bombing, at the G7 Hiroshima Summit

“As I wrote in the guestbook at the Hiroshima Peace Park last year, ‘The lessons of Hiroshima must be our North Star, guiding us to a world free of war and open to peace.’ That is equally true for Pearl Harbor. This new Sister Park Arrangement will expand the community of Americans and Japanese who visit Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima, learn their histories, and chart a better pathway forward,” said Ambassador Emanuel. 

In a congratulatory note celebrating the signing, President Barack Obama, who in 2016 became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, congratulated the agreement. “My visit to Hiroshima and Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Pearl Harbor were key steps in deepening the alliance between our two nations. This agreement today marks another historic accomplishment. By connecting our two peoples to our shared past, we can build a shared future grounded in peace and cooperation.”

In support of the new Arrangement, Governor Josh Green, M.D., State of Hawaiʻi, stated, “Agreement with the Pearl Harbor National Memorial that will serve to expand cooperation between the parks in the promotion of peace, culture, tourism, and education so that the world will always remember to protect future generations from global conflict and champion peace.”

This is the second Sister Park Arrangement between the United States and Japan. The first, signed in 2016, is between Gettysburg National Military Park and Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum. 

There are great expectations and gratitude from all over the world for the peace treaty between Japan and the United States, which will become even stronger.