80 Years On: Tokyo Air Raid Artifacts Promoting Peace

Tokyo, March 6 (Jiji Press)--With the number of survivors of the 1945 Tokyo Air Raid dwindling and Monday marking the 80th anniversary of the devastating raid that is believed to have killed some 100,000 people in one night, efforts are being made to preserve related historical artifacts found recently to promote peace.

The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage in the Japanese capital's Koto Ward is holding a special exhibition through April to allow visitors to see how the experiences of the air raid have been shared over generations.

The exhibition features part of a ceiling removed from a small room found last year during the demolition work of a hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward that was damaged in the air raid. It is rare for such remains to be preserved as they were.

In February, a charred doll was donated to the center by a Tokyo resident who said, "It was found when I was sorting out my house." Hiroto Hieshima, a 42-year-old curator, said, "We're still in an era when we can make new discoveries."

The Sumida Heritage Museum is also exhibiting Tokyo Air Raid artifacts discovered in recent years.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]