Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, called “Hibakusha” in Japan, sat near the prime minister’s office in Tokyo holding portraits of those who lived through the horror of the war.

Their mission, they said, was to pass on the memories of what they experienced during and after the atomic bombings from generation to generation.

The people who made up this group either carried photos of their deceased relatives or those still alive but unable to travel due to old age or due to health reasons.

One man wore a sort of mandala composed of multi-colored folded paper birds. Crane-shaped origami is a symbol of peace that was popularized after the bombing of Hiroshima.

One participant told Arab News Japan, “The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is a global problem, and we are all worried about what we can do.” She said she came to the protest site to represent the feelings of the Hiroshima nuclear victims. “They wanted to come and be here themselves, but some are 90 and 99 years old so they could not make it. But they prepared these writings to send with us, thus expressing their apologies to the people suffering in Ukraine.”