The Japan-America Society of Georgia and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, in cooperation with the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Atlanta, the City of Miyoshi, the City of Americus, and many community partners, have completed construction of a traditional Japanese bell tower for President Carter’s “Peace Bell” on the grounds of The Carter Center. The “Peace Bell Tower,” a replica of the bell tower at Shoganji Temple in Konu, Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, was carved from Japanese cypress and assembled in Atlanta by four carpenters from Hiroshima. The bell tower will be dedicated on September 30, 2022 at 4:00 PM, the day before President Carter’s 98^th birthday.

 During World War II, an ordinance to collect metals was promulgated throughout Japan, and the temple bell from Shoganji Temple in Konu was supplied to the Kure Naval Arsenal. An estimated 95 percent of temple bells in Japan were lost during this period. However, before Shoganji’s bell could be turned into ammunition, the war ended. Following the war, the bell ended up in England, where it resided for a time with James Tayler. His son, Milos, discovered the bell in 1958 while sorting through his father’s belongings. In 1982, Milos moved to East Orange Park, Florida with the bell. In 1985, before returning to England, Milos put the bell up for sale. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta solicited donations to purchase the bell, and on July 24, 1985, Consul General of Japan in Atlanta Tadayuki Nonoyama and Hiromitsu Araki, Chairman of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, presented the bell on behalf of the Japanese community to President and Mrs. Carter to commemorate the construction of The Carter Center.