Rentals of portable audio guide machines at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum have risen sharply since a new version featuring the voice of popular actress Sayuri Yoshinaga was introduced earlier this month, museum officials said Tuesday.
As of Monday, 3,755 visitors had rented the machines since the new version was introduced on Aug. 1.
This marks a near three-fold increase on the total number of rentals recorded in the whole of August 2001.
Seeking to boost attendance figures at the museum, Yoshinaga volunteered to record narratives relating to 19 of the 56 exhibits featured in the audio guide.
Museum officials said that the "Yoshinaga effect" appears to be promoting better understanding of the exhibits among visitors.
The digital machines can be rented for 300 yen. , with users inputting the number corresponding to a particular exhibit in order to hear more about it.
In addition to the Japanese version, the museum has English, Chinese and Korean audio guides. Guides in five other languages, including Thai and French, will be introduced in the fall, with the museum's ultimate target set at 16 languages.