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TheWorld Peace Bell Association (WPBA) is a Japanese organisation which attempts to raise awareness of theWorld peace movement by casting and installingJapanese temple bells in locations around the world.
The association was effectively begun in 1954 by Chiyoji Nakagawa, with the goal of providing peace bells to every country in the world.[1][2] As mayor ofUwajima, he oversaw the replacement of the temple bell at Taihei temple in the aftermath or theSecond World War. The replacement bell was known as the "Bell of Banzai for Absolute Peace", and was the model for theUnited Nations Peace Bell, the first bell donated by the WPBA.[3][4][5][self-published source]
The bells are made using melted-down coinage donated from countries around the world.[4][5] They have been placed in sixteen countries to date, with the US and Japan having more than one bell.[3]
The current president of the association is Tomijiro Yoshida.[2][4] Yoshida officially founded the WPBA in 1982, ten years after Chiyoji Nakagawa's death, to continue Nakagawa's work.[3]