East Asia Children's Conference/Convention was held on February 1, 1941, at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo Prefecture (now Tokyo) . It was jointly sponsored by the Imperial Japanese Government Information Bureau/Agency and the City of Tokyo.
East Asia Children's Conference, Hibiya Public Hall.
Approximately 2,800 children /representatives from 650 schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and over 30 students from Beijing Women's Normal College who were visiting Japan/ were invited to enjoy a chorus and a play by approximately 250 children from the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" countries, including the Empire of Japan, Manchukuo, Thailand, China, and Mongolia.
The program of the conference was the following:
Part 1. Paying homage to the Imperial Palace, singing the national anthem, silent prayer for the war dead, speeches by Tokyo Mayor Okubo Tojiro, speeches by Director General of the Information Bureau Ito Nobutoshi, speeches by representatives of children from each country, and closing remarks by Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yosuke. Congratulatory speeches by Army Minister Hideki Tojo, Navy Minister Koshiro Oikawa, and Education Minister Kunihiko Hashida were read out, followed by cheers for the exchange of ideas between nations.
Part 2. Performance of the fairy tale play "Rainbow Departure", dance, singing.
Part 3. Distribution of souvenirs and closing ceremony.
A fragment of Nippon News No. 35 /
日本ニュース 第３５号/ was dedicated to this conference.
