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 PeaceBoat new - In the early 1980's, the Japanese government attempted to censor school history textbooks in order to play down the country's imperialist aggression in Asia, before and during World War II. This expression of nationalism alarmed and offended Asian people, including many Japanese, and it was under these circumstances that a group of young Japanese students founded Peace Boat in 1983. Their aim was to discover the truth about Japan's invasions of Asian countries by going directly to the places the Imperial Army had invaded and speaking directly to the people affected. Under the slogan 'reflect on past wars to build peace for the future', they chartered a ship and with approximately 150 people onboard sailed for the Pacific Islands. Through face to face exchange with people who had suffered under Japanese imperialism, participants gained another perspective on history and laid the foundation for future cooperation. Voyages At the heart of our activities are educational peace voyages - voyages around the world or in the Pacific region onboard a large passenger ship. Every year we organise three 3-month Global Voyages and one or two shorter Regional Voyages. They are joined on average by 500 participants, and visit up to eighteen countries each time. The wealth and range of activities that we organise around them, both on board and on land, develop the two main areas of our work: peace education and international cooperation. Peace Education An average of fifty guest speakers from all over the world join each of our voyages, providing a wide-ranging and exciting programme of onboard lectures. These lectures focus on the issues of peace, human rights, the environment and sustainable development, as well as numerous specific regional and global concerns. On land, we organise numerous study and exchange activities in the countries the ship visits. International Cooperation Peace Boat cooperates with NGOs in most of the countries we visit on a range of short and long term projects aimed at supporting local initiatives. At the same time, our NGO Forum programme aims to foster increased cooperation between NGOs by offering the ship as a neutral space for networking. Participation in international conferences and events plays a large part in our networking efforts.
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