Some local governments in Japan are tapping the furusato nōzei hometown donation program, which offers tax deductions, to solicit contributions for projects aimed at passing on memories of World War II to younger generations.

Eighty years after the end of the war, initiatives are under way in some regions to keep the tragic history — from kamikaze suicide attack units to devastating air raids — from fading, by leveraging digital technology to renovate exhibition facilities and produce documentary footage.

The Chiran Peace Museum in Minamikyushu, Kagoshima Prefecture, has unveiled a revamped 3D diorama of the Chiran airfield and its surroundings, opening the updated exhibit on July 31. The museum preserves materials on the young pilots who flew from the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army's largest suicide attack base in the closing months of World War II.

To fund the upgrade, the city ran a crowdfunding-style campaign under the hometown donation program for about three months starting last November. The broader program allows people to donate to any local government, not just their hometown, with most of the donation deductible from resident and income taxes.

"The platform allowed us to reach prospective donors nationwide," said a city official involved in the project. The drive raised ¥4.065 million ($27,300) toward a ¥5 million goal. Of the 126 donors, 109, or nearly 90%, lived outside the prefecture.

While no conventional return gifts were offered, the museum sent each donor two admission tickets and a postcard as a token of gratitude.

The exhibition features projection mapping that synchronizes a 3D map with a video display to clearly explain wartime suicide attack operations. When visitors press buttons for sites such as aircraft shelters, the locations light up on the map while corresponding images and explanations appear on the screen.

"We will continue to pass down the reality of the suicide attack missions and contribute to world peace," said Minamikyushu Mayor Hiroyuki Nuruki.

Haruka Marume, a 19-year-old university sophomore who toured the museum, said, "It was easy to imagine what happened where.

"It's tragic that people my age lost their lives for the sake of the country, but we must keep paying attention so that this kind of thing is not repeated."

On Aug. 2 and 3, the Nagaoka grand fireworks festival, one of Japan's three largest fireworks displays, lit up the skies over Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture. The event commemorates the 1,489 victims of the U.S. air raid on the city on Aug. 1, 1945, and carries a message of peace.

Attendees reflected on the tragedy and the meaning of the event, offering comments such as, "Why didn't they end the war sooner?" and "It's better to launch fireworks than bombs or missiles."

To keep the memory of the air raid alive, the city government has launched a project to relocate and renovate its war damage museum. Donations solicited since April last year have already surpassed the target of ¥100 million. The renovated museum is slated to open next May, with total project costs estimated at about ¥1.5 billion.

Permanent exhibits will feature memorial portraits of the victims and their stories, while new immersive displays, including a re-created air raid shelter, will offer visitors a deeper understanding of the experience.

The Fukuyama Municipal Government in Hiroshima Prefecture is seeking donations for a project to record eyewitness accounts of the Aug. 8, 1945, air raid, one week before Japan announced its surrender in World War II. The city will accept contributions through Sept. 13 and aims to raise ¥2 million.

Under the project, survivors and other eyewitnesses will be invited to share how the raid disrupted daily life and how they worked to rebuild after the war. Their testimonies will be recorded on video, screened at facilities in the city and used in peace education programs.

"Recording firsthand accounts and passing them on to future generations is very important to ensure that the horrors of war are not forgotten," Fukuyama Mayor Naoki Edahiro said.