Current society faces numerous issues, and those arising from discrimination and divisions based on race, ethnicity, religion, and nationality are particularly complex. Against the backdrop of increasing international tensions such as the Russia–Ukraine War and the Israel–Hamas War, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, which advocated the abolition of nuclear weapons in 1956, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024. In these ongoing wars, the threat to use nuclear weapons is increasingly real. The presenters take this opportunity to use the case of Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a ship exposed to radiation during US nuclear tests in 1954, as material for Education for Peace (EFP). This case study largely followed the concept of “Dark Heritage” and its scholarship, particularly involving the highly sensitive relationship between the victims (including their families) who were exposed to radiation in 1954 and the narrative of Daigo Fykuryu Maru Exhibition Hall in Tokyo.

The Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall features exhibit the impact of hydrogen bomb tests, which include everlasting health effects on the ship’s crew, the tuna contamination incident, radioactive rain, the campaign against atomic and hydrogen bombs, nuclear contamination in the Pacific Ocean, incident resolution by the Japanese and US governments, nuclear damage across the Marshall Islands, and the global impact of nuclear tests. To this end, interviews were conducted with curators and visitors to the hall to determine the significance of using Daigo Fukuryu Maru as educational material for EFP.

Simultaneously, a brainstorming session to address a sustainable future was conducted as part of the university course. In this cross-disciplinary session, students expressed a strong interest in the topic of peacebuilding. Interestingly, most had not considered how science and technology could affect peace, as in the case of nuclear power and Daigo Fukuryu Maru. Students also desired to explore peacebuilding, not only focusing on war affairs but also coexistence among diverse ethnicities, religions, and more, as well as to explore EFP, which includes global food security. The presenters found that cross-disciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches could be highly effective for EFP, and we suggest that these approaches should be emphasized in university education in Japan. Such a course can offer fruitful opportunities for collaboration and exploration of ideas beyond disciplinary frameworks to seek a sustainable future, even if students may face the paradoxical position of Japan and its government’s attitude of not signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), as well as the lack of school education on Japan’s aggression and invasions during the early twentieth century, which are still extremely sensitive topics in Japan’s narrative.

Keywords: Nuclear heritage, moral and ethics education, Education for Peace, Dark Heritage.