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Former president of Costa Rica, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, pays visit to Hiroshima

by Hidetoshi Arioka, Staff Writer

Óscar Arias, 73, the former president of Costa Rica and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on March 23.

Guided by Kenji Shiga, director of the museum, Mr. Arias toured the facility for about an hour and a half, studying a model of the city in ruins after the atomic bombing, a charred lunchbox, and other exhibits. “There are still many people in the world who haven’t accepted that nuclear arms should be abolished,” he said. “I call on U.S. President Barack Obama to visit Hiroshima.” After touring the museum, Mr. Arias offers flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.

Mr. Arias received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to realize a peace accord in Central America after many years of conflict. This is his third visit to the city of Hiroshima. On this occasion he came to Japan at the invitation of Soka Gakkai.

(Originally published on March 24, 2014)

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