HIROSHIMA – The fee for adults to get into the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum will quadruple to ¥200 next April to help pay for preserving the Atomic Bomb Dome and other buildings, Mayor Kazumi Matsui said Monday.
A ticket for high school students and people aged 65 or older will be raised from ¥30 to ¥100. Junior high school students and children under 12 will continue to get in for free, Matsui said.
The museum, which displays artifacts from the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing, is run by a group affiliated with the municipal government. The plan to raise admission fees will be presented to the municipal assembly during its legislative session starting Sept. 14.
If approved, they will be the first hikes in 44 years. The admission fee for adults was raised in 1972 from ¥20 to ¥50.
Annual revenue from the museum is projected to increase by ¥128 million, Matsui said.
“We’d like to use (the money) to preserve and convey the reality of the atomic bombing,” he said.
In fiscal 2014, which ended last March 31, the museum drew 1.31 million visitors, including around 230,000 non-Japanese.
The museum operates at a deficit, with annual revenue, including admission fees and charges for using its conference rooms averaging ¥56 million, while operating costs stand at ¥336 million. The municipal government makes up the deficit.
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The Atomic Bomb Dome stands in twilight in the city of Hiroshima in July. | KYODO
