Kuramoto's interest in the nuclear weapons issue took root when she learned about nuclear deterrence in her "Introduction to Peace Studies" course during her first year at Ritsumeikan. She felt a strong sense of discomfort with the idea of deterring attacks from other countries by making them recognize the possibility of using nuclear weapons. “I had only learned about the tragic history of nuclear weapons in my studies up through high school, and to me, nuclear weapons were absolutely evil. I felt sickened by the idea of using nuclear weapons for peace," she recalls.
At the same time, she was greatly influenced when an older student in the Graduate School of International Relations whom she had met in the Mirai Seminar she was participating in at that time talked about how he was planning to travel to Vienna in June 2022 to attend the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. “I was shocked to learn that a young student around my age could participate in an international conference and that the issue of nuclear weapons was not a thing of the past, but something that is still being discussed internationally. Since then, I have been impelled to campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons," says Kuramoto.

Next, Kuramoto learned of the existence of Know Nukes Tokyo (KNT), an organization for the abolition of nuclear weapons formed by young people who participated in the Meeting of the States Parties, and as she read their dispatches on social media, she began to think that she would like to join KNT. Not long after this, she saw a member recruitment announcement from KNT. She immediately applied and was chosen to join the organization. “My activities began when I joined KNT. KNT is a Tokyo-based organization that was founded to think about the nuclear weapons issue in a city that was not struck by an atomic bomb. We hold peace studies sessions many different places, create events, and post on social media about the nuclear weapons issue," explains Kuramoto.
Kuramoto also joined a voluntary organization called Diet Member Watch in the fall of her first year. This is an online project to shed light on the positions of Japanese Diet members on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. As part of Diet Member Watch, Kuramoto was able to meet and talk with various local legislators and local citizens in order to encourage them to talk about the Treaty from the local level. She recounts her experience as follows. “This experience provided me with a foundation for engaging in activities in regional areas. At the same time, it strengthened my desire to get involved in activities on the ground in Kyoto, where I live. I came to feel this way because it seems that the nuclear weapon issue has been trivialized as something that only pertains to the cities that were A-bombed or that is only dealt with in Tokyo, which is close to the government, but there are very few people in my generation in Kansai who are speaking out. I believe that the nuclear weapons issue should not be something that only certain people are involved in, and I think my activities in Kyoto are meaningful in terms of connecting people physically and on a nationwide level."

TThis conviction led Kuramoto to immediately fill out an application for a Peace Museum Student Staff position, which she saw an announcement for by chance during her second year. She was assigned to work as a guide at the Peace Museum. Kuramoto says working as a guide is a great learning experience for her because she can talk and think about peace with visitors to the museum.
She got involved in the commemorative lecture for the Peace Museum’s reopening because she knew with Yuta Takahashi, the instructor of the workshop scheduled as a pre-event for the keynote lecture, through KNT. “I put Mr. Takahashi in touch with Dr. Akihiko Kimijima, the Director of the Peace Museum, which led to my participation in pre-event meetings, and before I knew it, I found myself involved in the planning and management of two pre-events as well as the keynote lecture. For the first pre-event, I had to select and secure student speakers. For the second pre-event, I worked on inviting Mr. Takahashi to lead a workshop, and on the day of the event, I managed Zoom for online participants, passed microphones around, handled the moderation, and created groups for group discussions. I was tasked with coordinating the students participating in the student dialogue for this lecture, and it was difficult to make sure that the questions, the gender balance of the questioners, and the seating were all unbiased," recalls Kuramoto.

Although the preparation period was hectic, Kuramoto says that she enjoyed being involved in the planning and operation of the event to which the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations as invited, as she sees it as an invaluable opportunity. More than anything else she said the opportunity to listen to the opinions of someone on the front lines has energized her own activities. “I was very moved by Ms. Nakamitsu's speech, especially when she emphasized the role that youth like us play in peace. In fact, I have been invited by various organizations to give lectures, but I feel uncomfortable being invited simply because I am young or because it feels like I am being used. But Ms. Nakamitsu told us that it is really important to listen carefully to the voices of young people, rather than treating them as window dressing. This made me realize that my feeling of discomfort was not wrong and provided me with reassurance that every little thing we do in our activities will help to create peace."
Kuramoto is active not only as a member of KNT and Diet Member Watch; she is also an intern for the Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and the Katawara Foundation. “The Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons is an organization that lobbies both citizens and politicians with the aim of getting Japan to sign and ratify of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by 2030, so the work I do there is an extension of the campaigning I did all over Japan for Diet Member Watch. Meanwhile the Katawara Foundation is an organization run by the young generation for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Mr. Takahashi is the president, and we have been assisting him in his activities in the Kansai region. I treat all of these activities as if they were my job, so I take them very seriously. I don't want to be taken lightly just because I am a student," says Kuramoto.
The Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons is currently preparing for the International Civil Society Forum to Abolish Nuclear Weapons – 80 Years Since the Atomic Bombings, which will be held in February 2025. “The forum includes a special program where we will discuss how young people can get involved in the nuclear weapons issue. I hope that people who are even just the slightest bit interested in the issue will come and join us,” says Kuramoto with a sparkle in her eye. We will continue rooting for Kuramoto as the voice of the young generation working on the front lines of this issue.