The cruise ship Peace Boat has departed Japan carrying more than just passengers. Alongside the 1,800 people joining its three-month global voyage is an exhibition that carries the voices of survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki—voices that are now set to reach 19 countries over the next three years.
The exhibition A Message to Humanity, part of the Nobel Peace Prize series, focuses on Nihon Hidankyo, the organization representing atomic bomb survivors. After its December 2024 debut at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, it is now making its way across the globe in a unique format curated for the Peace Boat by Asle Olsen.
The ship’s journey begins in Yokohama and continues through 23 ports, including stops in China, Vietnam, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, and several cities across Europe, the United States, and Latin America.
Peace Boat, the Japanese non-profit hosting the exhibition, organizes educational voyages for people interested in learning about issues like war, peace, and inequality. The current trip will wrap up in August, back in Japan, but the exhibition will remain onboard for the next three years as part of future journeys.
For the Nobel Peace Center, this collaboration is about access and impact. Kim Reksten Grønneberg, Nobel Peace Center’s Director of Communications and Marketing, said, “The collaboration with Peace Boat is a unique opportunity to spread the message of peace and hope widely and to raise awareness about the devastating consequences of nuclear weapons, while also highlighting the strength and resilience of the survivors.”
The exhibition features photographs from 1945, the story of Nihon Hidankyo, and portraits of survivors taken by French Magnum photographer Antoine d’Agata. Several survivors are joining the voyage, giving others a chance to hear their stories firsthand.
One of them is Fukushima Tomiko, who survived the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. She attended the exhibition’s launch and reflected on what this global journey could mean. “I am so thankful for this collaboration and the exhibition is very moving. The fact that it will now be carried across the world is a unique opportunity for others to learn more,” she said.
At each port, the exhibition will open its doors to local students, civil society groups, and UN staff. It’s a way to bring history directly to people who might not otherwise encounter it—not through textbooks, but through real stories and faces.
This isn’t a one-time event. It’s a long-term effort to keep conversations alive, about survival, responsibility, and what peace should mean in today’s world.
