日本和平钟是日本联合国协会于1954年6月赠送给联合国的。它是用60个国家的儿童收集起来的硬币铸成的，安放在一座柏木的典型日本神社式结构物中。钟的外面用汉字铸有“世界绝对平和万岁”的字样，现位于秘书处大楼西花园内。

每年敲钟两次已经成为传统；一次是春分、也就是春季的第一天；另一次是9月联合国大会届会开幕的那一天。后来，联大于2001年表决通过第A/RES/55/282号决议，将每年9月21日定为国际和平日，于是秋季的敲钟仪式就定在了每年9月21日。

The Japanese Peace Bell was presented to the United Nations in June 1954 by the United Nations Association of Japan. It was cast from coins collected by people from 60 different countries including children, and housed in a typically Japanese structure, ressembling a Shinto shrine, made of cypress wood.

It has become a tradition to ring the bell twice a year: on the first day of Spring, at the Vernal Equinox, and on 21 September to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. In 2002, the General Assembly set 21 September as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace.