An excerpt of a diary written by a young girl who died in the atomic bombing is included in a junior high school textbook to be issued in fiscal 2002. The excerpt is taken from Diary of Yoko Moriwaki; 1st Year, Class Six, Hiroshima Prefectural School No. 1 (Peace Culture). Hiroshi Hosokawa (73) (Hagoromo-cho, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City), who is Yoko's older brother, edited the diary. Hosokawa stated, "I hope the diary speaks to the youth of today."

The entry for August 5 states, "Tomorrow we will prepare for evacuation. I want to do my best." The diary was published in June 1996. Hosokawa's sister Yoko Moriwaki, who was 13 years old, enrolled Hiroshima Prefectural High School No. 1 (now, Minami High School) on April 6, 1945 and was killed by the atomic bombing at Dohashi-cho. Her diary, which ends on August 5th, the day before the bombing, is presented along with the notes of related persons.

Assistant Professor Takeshi Tsuchiya (41) of Aichi Education University, formerly a high school teacher of Japanese history (Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture) read the diary. Considering it "a material witness to historical truth," Tsuchiya proposed including an excerpt in the New Edition of History for Junior High School Students (Teikoku Shoin) to be issued in fiscal 2002. Taken from the time immediately prior to the bombing, the excerpt helps explain the atomic bombing through entries that describe how the students supported people working on building demolition. She was mortally wounded in the bombing and taken into a first aid station. The textbook also excerpts a letter written by a woman who held her hand as death approached.

Assistant Professor Tsuchiya hopes that "students will reflect on how the future of this innocent girl was abruptly cut off and ponder how to create the world they will live in.

Hosokawa, who works as a "peace volunteer" at the Peace Memorial Museum, says, "The diary continues to live, more than half a century later. I will be happy if this contributes to the passing on of the atomic bomb experience."

(caption) Hosokawa reads the diary of his sister Yoko's, which will appear in a textbook for fiscal 2002.