King of Denmark lays flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims
Apr. 26, 2025
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
On April 25, King Frederic X of Denmark, currently visiting Japan, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, and offered a flower wreath at the Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims. The King toured Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and filled in the museum’s guestbook, writing: “I hope, trust, and believe that the wisdom of humanity ensures that such a tragedy is never repeated.”
Led by Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui, King Frederic placed flowers at the cenotaph and offered a silent prayer. He carefully listened to an explanation about the history of the park’s development and asked multiple questions. At the museum, under the guidance of Takehiro Kagawa, chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, The King viewed museum exhibits such as “white panorama,” which conveys with computer graphic image how Hiroshima’s landscapes were destroyed by the bombing, and photos showing the horrific conditions soon after the atomic bombing.
King Frederic visited Japan in accordance with the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo. This is his second visit to Hiroshima after coming to the city in 1987 as crown prince of Denmark. King Frederic also dropped by the Hiroshima Orizuru Tower located near the park, and folded a paper crane with four students in the sixth grade at Fukuromachi Elementary School. Ryo Noguchi, 12, who instructed The King as to how to fold the crane, said, “I would be happy if The King also prayed for continuance of a peaceful world, where an atomic bomb is never used.”
(Originally published on April 26, 2025)
On April 25, King Frederic X of Denmark, currently visiting Japan, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, and offered a flower wreath at the Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims. The King toured Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and filled in the museum’s guestbook, writing: “I hope, trust, and believe that the wisdom of humanity ensures that such a tragedy is never repeated.”
Led by Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui, King Frederic placed flowers at the cenotaph and offered a silent prayer. He carefully listened to an explanation about the history of the park’s development and asked multiple questions. At the museum, under the guidance of Takehiro Kagawa, chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, The King viewed museum exhibits such as “white panorama,” which conveys with computer graphic image how Hiroshima’s landscapes were destroyed by the bombing, and photos showing the horrific conditions soon after the atomic bombing.
King Frederic visited Japan in accordance with the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo. This is his second visit to Hiroshima after coming to the city in 1987 as crown prince of Denmark. King Frederic also dropped by the Hiroshima Orizuru Tower located near the park, and folded a paper crane with four students in the sixth grade at Fukuromachi Elementary School. Ryo Noguchi, 12, who instructed The King as to how to fold the crane, said, “I would be happy if The King also prayed for continuance of a peaceful world, where an atomic bomb is never used.”
(Originally published on April 26, 2025)
