Staff writer

For Josephine Allan, the defining moment came when her home-stay grandmother, a survivor of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of Hiroshima, shied away as the family gathered around to shoot off fireworks.

Allan, 19, joined six other current and freshly graduated high school students from Japan and six other countries in Hiroshima last week as guests of the Japan Return Program for a special program to encourage young people to study and talk about peace.

Reflecting on their experiences there, the participants each noted that they were jolted by stories or encounters that brought home to them the reality of Japan's World War II history like no classroom could.

"War is a political matter between countries," Allan said. "But (going to Hiroshima) I really learned how it can drive people mad, how fearful a thing war is for people."

Over five days, the students visited memorial sites around the city, talked with survivors of the bombing and served with Hiroshima high school students on a panel, in Japanese, titled "Let's Discuss Peace Together."

The two Japanese students and five students of Japanese from Canada, China, Britain, Italy and Russia were invited to participate in the peace-minded program, based on essays they wrote in Japanese on that theme.

In the past, the Japan Return Program, which is backed by the Foreign Ministry and the Japan Foundation, has been known for its tailor-made summer programs that allow students who once lived in Japan to return and study.

Now in its fourth year, the organization has taken a new tack. With the cooperation of institutional and corporate sponsors, including The Japan Times, it aims to encourage youth to nurture a detailed understanding of and strong connection to Japan.

Vice Chairman Miyoko Ikezaki noted that from now on, the organization would like to offer both the original and invitation-only programs in tandem. "If you can speak and write Japanese, you have the chance to come to Japan," she said, adding that the program has a rolling deadline.

As the Japan Return Program stretches its net farther in search of promising students eager to build bridges that connect to Japan, this year's participants turn to the task of spreading the knowledge that they gained.

Some were already planning to return home, while four participants continued on to Okinawa Thursday.

"Even in Japan, there are a lot of people who don't know (this history)," commented Tsukuba University High School student Takumi Kobayashi. "And if it just ends here, it has no meaning.

"So from here, it's a matter of talking about and communicating our experiences, getting people to think about it, and then having it spread from there."

More information about the program can be found at http://www.bekkoame.ne. jp/ro/bna/JRP