Nagasaki in Gernika

This note was published at The Japan Times:

Nagasaki opens A-bomb exhibit in Guernica, Spain

GUERNICA, Spain (Kyodo) An exhibition showcasing the tragic consequences of the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan in World War II has opened at the Guernika Peace Museum Foundation.

Sakue Shimohira, a 72-year-old survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing in 1945, made a plea during the opening ceremony last week for the world to abolish nuclear weapons.

"Please make Nagasaki the last site of an atomic bombing so that no more atomic bomb sufferers will be produced," she said.

The national peace hall in Nagasaki decided to hold the event in Guernica in the belief it is "suitable to convey the horror of the atomic bombing" in 2007, the 70th anniversary of the aerial bombing of Guernica, which inspired Pablo Picasso's famous painting of the same name.

The Basque city was bombed by Nazi Germany's aircraft on behalf of Gen. Francisco Franco for several hours during a crowded market day.

Introduced as a "peace ambassador," Shimohira talked about her experience in front of about 80 people.

A 43-year-old coffee shop manager said he was stunned by her speech.

"Thinking about victims, I feel overwhelmed," he said. "I also feel indignation toward those people who killed this many people. I would like to tell my two children what I heard."

The note is a follow up to the one we reproduced back in May.

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