Japan

On the heels of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Japanese anti-nuclear advocacy group Nihon Hidankyō, Naomi Satoh returns to discuss her in-progress illustrated novel based on personal and familial oral histories gathered from survivors of the 1945 bombings over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Bloomington-Normal Asahikawa Sister Cities Committee hosted junior ambassadors from Asahikawa, Japan this past week for the first time since the pandemic.

The Bloomington-Normal Asahikawa, Japan Sister Cities program is marking 60 years since its founding. A delegation that includes Asahikawa's mayor is on a whirlwind three-day visit this week to the Twin Cities to celebrate the program that creates citizen ambassadors to promote goodwill and friendship.

Concerns over the coronavirus have prompted Bloomington-Normal Sister Cities to cancel this year's junior ambassador trip.Fifteen students in grades seven…