Plans are underway in Atlanta in the southern U.S. state of Georgia to build a traditional Japanese bell tower that can house a functioning peace bell that originates from Hiroshima Prefecture.

While cultural exchanges between Japan and the United States have stagnated due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus, organizers of the project aim to make the tower a symbol of friendship between the two countries.

A Japanese 'peace bell' on display at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, last June | COURTESY OF THE JAPAN-AMERICA SOCIETY OF GEORGIA / VIA KYODO
A Japanese 'peace bell' on display at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, last June | COURTESY OF THE JAPAN-AMERICA SOCIETY OF GEORGIA / VIA KYODO