The City of Hiroshima, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima City University, and the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation concluded a cooperation agreement on January 25, 2023, to create a "center of knowledge" for peace.

The agreement aims to establish a world-class center for peace research and education, as well as a hub for promoting a “culture of peace” throughout Hiroshima. The center — to be located in Hiroshima University's former Faculty of Science Building No. 1 — would work to instill a desire for a peaceful society without nuclear weapons in global public opinion, while creating a trend towards peace.

The signing ceremony, held in Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, was attended by Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui, HU President Mitsuo Ochi, Hiroshima City University President Shinichi Wakabayashi, and Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation Chairperson Takashi Koizumi.

Mayor Matsui explained that the four parties would work together to establish the Hiroshima Peace Education Research Facility (tentative name) by the end of fiscal year 2023.

President Ochi commented, “We would like to exhibit and release the academic materials collected by Hiroshima University's Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine and develop the center as a place where citizens and foreign visitors can come to learn about the damage caused by the atomic bomb. In addition, the four parties will work together to establish the center and create synergy with the Higashi-Senda Campus of Hiroshima University to enhance education and research, contribute to peace, and promote regional development.”

With the conclusion of the agreement, the four parties will work together to form a “center of knowledge” for peace, using the information and expertise they each possess.

The four parties will continue to maintain the former Faculty of Science Building No. 1, establish the Hiroshima Peace Education Research Facility, conduct joint education and research on peace, and disseminate the reality of the atomic bombing to the rest of the world.