Keiko OguraKeiko Ogura was born in 1937 in Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. Keiko was 8 years old at the time, and lived only 2.4 km away from the hypocenter. In 1984, she founded Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace (HIP) and published the Hiroshima Handbook and Hiroshima Peace Park Guide. In 2011, she was appointed as the official A-bomb storyteller by the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. With a strong belief in conveying the reality of the atomic bombing to people around the world, she has shared her A-bomb experience with world leaders and people in more than 50 countries and regions. She shared her story with world leaders attending the G7 Summit in May 2023. In November 2023, Keiko was the recipient of the Chugoku Culture Award. In recognition of her contributions to worldwide peace and education, Keiko received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Idaho (USA) in May 2024.

 

Photo: Mari Ishiko