BANGKOK: An exhibition on the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing days of World War II started in Bangkok on August 6 for a four-day run. 

Visitors prayed for peace at the exhibition, which showcases items, including pictures by hibakusha atomic bomb survivors depicting scenes of the two Japanese cities following the attacks.

“It was quite emotional to see images shown” at the exhibition, said a 24-year-old male university student. He also said that the exhibits made him realize “how severe and powerful the atomic bombs were,” adding, “These incidents should not happen (again).”

Hiroshima was destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, and Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, suffered the same fate three days later.

The event also features an anime on Sadako Sasaki, a girl who died at the age of 12 due to acute leukemia after being exposed to radiation from the bomb that hit Hiroshima. The girl continued to make “orizuru” paper cranes until her death, wishing for her recovery from the disease.

I feel sad for her,” a 22-year-old female university student said.

She said she did not know the devastating scale of damage caused by the atomic bombs.

JIJI Press