The Nuclear Age: Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was aired in August 2003, the year which marked the golden anniversary of television in Japan. During the production, a careful list was initially made of the domestic- and foreign-produced programs dealing with nuclear issues. A list was painstakingly drawn up of the NHK productions at the NHK Peace Archives Editing Committee in Tokyo, and at the archives of the NHK stations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. NHK Hiroshima Station had been establishing a database of such productions, but staff at the Nagasaki station had to perform the search from cardboard boxes. About 600 productions appeared on the list, including a number of local programs. Information about the productions was sent to the newly established Kawaguchi Archives, which in turn led to the establishment of the Peace Archives in 2005, one of the activities marking the eightieth anniversary of broadcasts in Japan. The investigation found very few overseas productions dealing with nuclear issues. U.S. productions tended to deal with the atomic tests at the Bikini Atoll, whilst the European productions were of a similar nature; staff did not find any that dealt squarely with Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Almost none of the Japanese productions had been aired overseas. The majority of countries around the world consider that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki simply brought an end to World War II. The gulf in historical perceptions is large and profound. We have reached the sixtieth anniversary of the bombings and of the end of World War II without having overcome the differing attitudes.

    Atomic bombs kill non-combatants, regardless of age or gender; they obliterate not only people, but also cities, as well as culture and history. We must warn humanity by continuing to speak about the realities of the bombings.
    Living survivors of the bombings will one day disappear from the peace memorial parks in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. People who did not experience the bombings firsthand are starting to speak about what happened. A computer-graphics generated model is being created of the Atomic Bomb Dome and other places at Ground Zero in Hiroshima, as they appeared before the blast. The actress Sayuri Yoshinaga gives readings in Japan and abroad of poems about the bombings. The poems, written shortly after the bombings, have been translated into English, and have touched people's hearts abroad, since they tell of the realities and of the personal experiences.
    The images of the experiences and the realities of the bombings, which have been recorded and sealed over time, comprise a considerable capacity for informing future generations. The collection of programs produced in the only country to have experienced atomic attack, and the testimony and experiences of the survivors, are also a valuable cultural asset for the world that provides us with a warning for the future.

    The development of the Internet means the Peace Archives have set their sights on an on-line format, which will enable people in Japan and elsewhere to access experiences about the bombings. NHK, the only broadcaster to have firsthand experience of atomic attack, can be a global center of such images, taking on the role of urging peace - peace without nuclear weapons.