Seventy-nine years have passed from the Hiroshima bomb, the survivors’ number are decreasing due to aging.

PLAY SPACE, a peace education organization in Hiroshima is committed to collecting as many stories as possible to promote peace education. However, despite the survivor’s willingness to share their stories, they often experience trauma when recounting their stories.

PLAY SPACE has developed a handkerchief device and app that applies the knowledge of certified psychologists and therapists.

This system consists of a handkerchief device and an AI equipped smartphone app. The handkerchief device will acquire vital data such as heart rate, skin temperature and perspiration from elderly survivors without causing distress. The vital data is then sent to the interviewer’s smartphone where the AI analyzes the mental state of the elderly. The AI then provides optimal questions (such as questions to calm them when they are upset) or pause the interview if the individual is in an overly tense state and encourage care to recover. Developed in collaboration with university psychologists and therapists, these systems incorporate advanced therapeutic techniques accessible to students and others who do not have the knowledge. Beyond the testing phase, these systems are currently in active operation.

We developed a method to gather stories while addressing the trauma still endured by survivors. This system will enable us to collect as many untold stories as possible, for future peace education. The media coverage of this initiative will also challenge the common misconception in Hiroshima that “survivors must tell their stories.”

The system was developed in collaboration with university psychologists, certified psychologists, peace education organizations, and the survivors over a year. After completing the system, interviews were conducted with 50 survivors. The collected stories were compiled into a book, which was provided to UN and elementary schools to better inform the world.

Issue and activates raised awareness by the media in Hiroshima and by +13M people.

Furthermore 98% of the survivors express a positive opinion about this system.

Over one million yen were donated from local companies sponsoring this activity.

The effectiveness of the system extends beyond Hiroshima, as media in Fukushima is considering its utilization for collecting stories related to the Great East Japan Earthquake.