A VR recreation of Hiroshima immediately after the atomic bombing. The burned Atomic Bomb Dome (formerly the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall) is visible amid the scorched earth. In the foreground, water is swirling up from the river due to the shockwave from the explosion.
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As the survivors of the atomic bomb grow older, it becomes increasingly difficult to pass down their firsthand experiences. In Hiroshima, new technologies like virtual reality (VR) are being used to help people grasp the horror of the atomic bombing.
In addition, a database of survivor testimonies is being built, and projects using artificial intelligence (AI) to preserve these memories are underway.
Still, fully recreating the reality — especially the emotional weight — remains a major challenge.
Stepping Back in Time
Put on a VR headset, and you're suddenly standing on a lively street in Hiroshima on the morning of August 6, 1945.
Though it was wartime, the streets were busy with people going about their day. The sky was a clear blue, cloudless. A small aircraft appeared in the distance.
Then, a flash of light.
Everything turned white. After about five seconds, the view cleared. All around was scorched earth. Piles of blackened rubble stretched as far as the eye could see. The sky had darkened, smoke curled upward, and the only sound was the crackle of flames.
The Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall stood damaged, its distinctive dome reduced to a skeletal frame — what would later become known as the Atomic Bomb Dome.
People staggered and writhed in pain, their bodies covered in severe burns.
It was hell on earth.
Creating the VR Experience
The VR content was developed by Fujita, a Tokyo-based construction firm involved in Hiroshima's postwar rebuilding. Working with the University of Tokyo, they recreated scenes from just before the bombing through the recovery period, using survivor accounts and historical photographs.
The full version can be experienced in an approximately 80-minute tour offered by the tour company Tabimachi Gate Hiroshima.
"We hope this becomes a way for younger generations to think about peace," a company representative said.
The company has provided Hiroshima City with a five-minute version and, since August 2024, has been lending VR goggles to schools and local governments for use in peace education.
Hiroshima is also launching an AI-powered project to preserve survivor testimonies. Five survivors have been interviewed on video, and AI will be used to play back parts of their stories in response to users' questions. Trials will soon begin in local schools.
Separately, Hiroshima City is working with Hiroshima City University to develop a searchable database of photos and written testimonies. An AI search system is expected to launch in fiscal year 2031.
The Urgency of Preservation
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 99,130 people in Japan still held Atomic Bomb Survivor's Health Handbooks as of the end of fiscal year 2024. That's a decrease of about 37,000 over five years. The average age of survivors is now 86.1.
As time passes, the risk grows that these memories will be lost. Emerging technologies offer hope for preserving them in more lasting ways.
Can Technology Replace Presence?
But passing on the true experience is not easy. Hearing a survivor speak in person — feeling their presence and the emotion behind their words — can create a powerful, lasting impression. Can VR and AI truly replace that?
Yuji Sakamoto, head of Hiroshima City's Atomic Bomb Experience Inheritance Section, acknowledges the difficulty: "No matter the method, it's extremely hard to fully convey the reality of the bombing — what people went through, what they felt."
While generative AI could have been used to create virtual characters to tell these stories, the city chose instead to focus on collecting the real voices of survivors.
"We want to pass on their feelings and hopes for peace," Sakamoto said.
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Author: Shuta Miyazaki, The Sankei Shimbun
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