Nagasaki: Descendants of Tojo, Truman, Ghandi, Other Wartime Leaders Travel Together in Sign of Peace

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:23 JST, October 11, 2025

NAGASAKI — Descendants of five World War II-era leaders visited Nagasaki City recently to renew their wish for peace.

Among them were Clifton Truman Daniel, 68, a grandson of former U.S. President Harry Truman, who ordered the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of India’s independence. Hidetoshi Tojo, 52, then Prime Minister Hideki Tojo’s great-grandson, also attended.

The five left Hiroshima for Nagasaki by bicycle on Sept. 14. They hope to demonstrate that even the descendants of adversarial leaders can travel together on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. They arrived at the Peace Statue in Nagasaki on Sept. 19, offered flowers and mourned the victims of the atomic bombings at a ceremony that marked their arrival.

“Precisely because we are the descendants of the leaders of that time and a kind of symbol of their antagonism, I believe we can convey the message that even while in conflict, we can understand each other,” Tojo said. “In a world where divisions persist, I want to keep advocating for peace, even in the small things,” he said.