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Seven-year-old Shahane Shahsuvaryan has made a paper lantern with Masis and Sis, Noah’s Ark and other small lanterns drawn on it. Masis is the best mountain in the world for Shahane. With this lantern and the drawing she wants to tell Japanese children about it, in the meantime calling for peace in the whole world. With 70 other lanterns, her lantern too will travel to Japan to join other lanterns, which will be released on the water as a sign of peace.


Shahane’s lantern is presented at the UN Office in Armenia within the frameworks of the exhibition “I will write “peace” on your wings and you’ll fly all over the world”. In 2005, “Hikari”Armenian-Japanese scientific-cultural centre launched the centre’s first big campaign titled “Peace Lanterns”, which became international in 2008. It’s been already the 12th year that Armenian children send their lanterns to Japan on August 6, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony dedicated to the victims of the world’s first nuclear attack. Each year, “Hikari” centre organizes a farewell ceremony for the lanterns highlighting the efforts and participation of the children and their noble aspirations for maintaining peace in the world.

If in Armenia, they respect the memory of the deceased by visiting their graves and lighting candles, in Japan people make lanterns, write a memory connected with the deceased and put in the river.

Another student at “Hikari” centre, 16-year-old Mher Martirosyan has drawn a dove, a pomegranate and the peace sign on his lantern.

“I want peace in the whole world. War has never brought and will never bring anything good for anyone,” Mher told Panorama.am.

President of “Hikari” Armenian-Japanese scientific-cultural centre, Karine Piliposyan said that with each lantern they send their emotions, wishes and dreams.

“Our biggest wish is for peace to fly over the world. It’s unfortunate that for resolving issues around the world people turn to weapons, and in 1945 they even used a nuclear bomb. There are people who still suffer from it,” she said.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Armenia, Eiji Taguchi also attended the exhibition. He noted that he appreciates the initiative of the Armenian children of making lanterns and sending them to Hiroshima. “It’s an honour for Japan that Armenia, especially the Armenian children respect the sorrow of Japanese people and have joined the movement of sending peace to the whole world”.

Armenian Ambassador to Japan, Hrant Poghosyan will take the lanterns with him to Japan. He noted that in Japan they don’t know much about such a small and distant country as Armenia, yet through the initiative of sending lanterns to Japan, they discover Armenia little by little.