A 14-year-old girl from California, Kyreece Imada, offered about 3,000 paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park as part of her peace-praying activities. Daughter of professional golfer Ryuji Imada from Hiroshima, she was inspired by the story of atomic bomb survivor Sadako Sasaki. Imada plans to return next year with cranes from other countries.
In late November 2025, Kyreece Imada visited Hiroshima and offered about 3,000 paper cranes folded by children at the Children's Peace Monument in Peace Memorial Park. At her California school, Imada learned about Sadako Sasaki and was shocked by the atomic bombing's horrors and long-term effects. Sadako, exposed to radiation at age 2 in Hiroshima, developed leukemia a decade later and died while folding paper cranes in hope of recovery. The monument, funded by her classmates and others, receives cranes from Japan and abroad.
In October, Imada taught around 100 school friends how to fold cranes and instructed children online in other states. In Hiroshima, she met an 83-year-old former elementary school classmate of Sadako's, who had also survived the bomb, and listened to her memories. "I'm going to tell my school friends that many people, including children, suffered from the bombing in Hiroshima," Imada said. "I want to collect paper cranes from not only Japan and the United States but also other countries, and come back to Hiroshima next year."
Her initiative highlights the importance of passing down atomic bomb memories to younger generations. Imada's father, Ryuji Imada, is a professional golfer from Hiroshima.
