Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen has long been considered a classic, telling the semi-autobiographical story of how Nakazawa survived the Hiroshima bombing. The Hiroshima Board of Education has plans to use the manga into its peace studies program, which is currently undergoing trial for third-graders at a model school. If successful, the peace studies program would be expanded to all grade levels and schools in Hiroshima next year.

The use of Barefoot Gen in a school curriculum is drawing complaints from a new group called "Atomic Bomb Survivors Seeking Peace and Security." The group contends that Nakazawa's manga is "one-sided" in its portrayal of the bombing and that the peace studies program should "choose materials that are neutral politically and ideologically."

The group's website differentiates it from other survivor groups, stating that its goals are to start "a movement towards building a true peace." How does it plan to do this? From the sound of it, by supporting armament. A May 7 statement claims that "the 'Hiroshima Peace' movement and 'peace regime' that only advocate 'nuclear disarmament'" doesn't stop other countries from committing "illegal acts." It sees Japan's neighbors as threats, ready to hit at any moment.