Hiroshima, Japan: Falun Dafa Practitioners Perform at the Hiroshima Flower Festival

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Japan participated in the 48th Hiroshima Flower Festival parade and stage performances at the Peace Memorial Park and Peace Boulevard in Hiroshima on May 3, 2025. This was the practitioners’ 21st year participating in this event. Many spectators praised Falun Dafa after watching the performance and the parade.

The Hiroshima Flower Festival aims to promote world peace. It is one of the largest celebrations and held during the Golden Week holiday. The festival is usually held from May 3–5, and attracts more than 1.6 million visitors every year.

At the festival, Falun Dafa practitioners’ stage performances included performances by the Tian Guo Marching Band and the Falun Gong waist drum team. They also demonstrated the five Dafa exercises. The attendees watched closely and some took photos and videos. During the exercise demonstration, a number of spectators also followed along and did the exercise movements.

The Tian Guo Marching Band performs at the Hiroshima Flower Festival on May 3.

Waist drum team performance.

Practitioners demonstrated the five sets of Falun Dafa exercises.

Immediately after the stage performances, Falun Gong practitioners participated in the parade. This year, 7,800 people from 77 groups participated in the parade. Both sides of Peace Boulevard was packed with local and foreign spectators. According to statistics from the organizing committee, the number of visitors on May 3 reached 677,000.

Falun Gong Practitioners in the Parade

The Falun Gong practitioners’ group was led by the Tian Guo Marching Band, followed by a float decorated with more than 500 pots of flowers with the three characters “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” hanging high in the front. It was followed by an exercise demonstration team, and a kimono team holding cherry blossoms. Behind it was the cheerful waist drum team. The entire procession looked grand with vibrant colors.

Falun Dafa practitioners participate in the parade

One of the spectators who watched the practitioners’ parade said that the performance of the Tian Guo Marching Band was touching. She had tears in her eyes while watching. Another said that the team was grand and the float passing by gave people a solemn feeling. Another said that the three big words “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” had a three-dimensional sense and looked like blooming flowers, reminding people at all times to follow these three words. During the parade, the organizer introduced Falun Gong to the audience along the way through the loudspeaker. The Hiroshima RCC TV station took detailed footage of practitioners’ parade during the live stream.

Falun Dafa practitioners’ are in groups as reported by the Hiroshima RCC TV station during the live streaming. (Screenshots of televised footage)

Spectators Praise Falun Gong and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance

Before the stage performance, Nikita and Gabe from Australia saw members of the Tian Guo Marching Band waiting to perform and said, “There are also Tian Guo Marching Bands in Australia, and I heard of Falun Gong.” A practitioner told them that people who practice Falun Gong all live by the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Nikita said: “This is great. We must watch Falun Gong practitioners’ stage performance later.”

Nikita and Gabe from Australia

Hoang Viet Hoa is from Vietnam. After watching the practitioners’ stage performance, she said, “This was my first time seeing a performance by Falun Gong practitioners, and I was very moved. The concepts of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are also promoted in Vietnamese traditional culture. This is very good.”

Hoang Viet Hoa from Vietnam

Akira Kuratani came to watch the Flower Festival parade during time off from work and said, “The Falun Gong group’s performance is great!”

Akira Kuratani

“I Truly Hope that the Persecution Will End”

Takeshi Nakagawa, who had seen Falun Gong practitioners’ stage performance before, said: “I was a bit further away earlier and then got drawn by the loud and powerful music of the band. I kept watching. Then I saw the Falun Gong banner, and I was very interested, so I kept watching. Then I tried to do the movements along with them. It felt very comfortable. I want to try practicing it after I get home.”

Takeshi Nakagawa

A practitioner then told him about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Mr. Nakagawa said: “The Chinese people give me the impression that they are broad-minded. I like China very much. It is really heart-wrenching that something like this [persecution] is happening.”

The practitioner told him that China does not represent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but the CCP is ruling China, and the Chinese people are also deceived. Mr. Nakagawa said: “I really hope the persecution will end. With your efforts, one day there will be no more persecution. I hope you keep going.”