HIROSHIMA — At the same time as the G-7 Hiroshima Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was being held here, former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica visited Hiroshima on April 10, where he was captivated by photos of the aftermath of the atomic bomb on display at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
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With a serious look on his face throughout his time at the museum, he studied displays such as a photo of a soldier with a splotched face caused by radiation, and the former possessions of people who were exposed to the atomic bomb.
Mujica was on his first visit to Japan, having been invited by a publisher due to the upcoming release in Japan of a book on Mujica’s accomplishments. He made the visit to Hiroshima out of his own desire. After viewing the Atomic Bomb Dome, he left flowers at a memorial for the victims of the bomb. While at the museum, he stopped to look at and quietly contemplate photos, such as one taken of the first flowers blossoming in the scorched aftermath.
After viewing the exhibits, Mujica wrote a message that when translated read in part, “Science without ethics leads to unthinkable tools of evil. History teaches us that humans are the only animals that will trip twice over the same stone. Have we learned this lesson?”
Mujica told museum curator Kenji Shiga, who guided him through the exhibits, that it pained him to think that the bomb was dropped while scientists were aware of the tragedy it would bring.
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