Taoiseach lays wreath at Hiroshima memorial, says the world is more dangerous now than in 1945
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings at the end of World War II.
On the morning of 6 August 1945, most of Hiroshima was destroyed when the US dropped its first atomic bomb directly over the city.
Around 70,000 people died instantly and by the year's end a total of 140,000 people had died due to radiation poisoning and other after effects of the bomb.
Around 5,000 people per year get added to that list having passed away generally due to radiation related cancers.
World War Two destruction after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima 1945
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Speaking with reporters after his meeting with Mayor of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui, the Taoiseach expressed Ireland's strong and long-standing commitment to disarmament and denuclearisation.
World is in a 'dangerous place'
When asked if he thinks the world is a more dangerous place now that it was in 1945, the Taoiseach replied:
'I think it is. It is in a very dangerous place. I think it speaks to at one level, the incredible engineering ingenuity of humankind, and at another level, the stupidity of humankind, on a very basic level that the world is advancing at an extraordinary rate.
'We are on the cusp of the AI revolution, which would be as profound as the industrial revolution, if not more. This is what people say. And yet mankind keeps on developing the means to destroy itself,' he said.
The Taoiseach spoke about being at a recent AI summit in Paris whereby one of the presentations was about the application of AI to warfare, which he said 'would really be on a different level altogether in terms of destruction that could be wreaked on humankind'.
'So it is very problematic and I think very worrying, in terms of where we are today,' he added.
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Hiroshima victims
Visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which is located at the centre of Hiroshima, the mayor told the Taoiseach about the thousands of names that are recorded at the memorial.
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He said survivors do not want the 'cycle of hatred' against those that perpetrated the attack on the people of Japan to continue. He said the message from Hiroshima is that 'we should not repeat the evil'.
'We must break the cycle,' the Taoiseach agreed.
While visiting today the Taoiseach also rang the Peace Bell and visited the the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commonly called the A-Bomb Dome, which stands just 160 metres from the hypocentre of the explosion.
Aimée-Linh McCartney
Aimée-Linh McCartney
Speaking about the importance of today's visit, Martin said Ireland and Japan are like-minded, peace-loving countries, stating that there has been a breakdown in the international rules-based system, which the Taoiseach said needs to be restored.
Trump's comments on Hiroshima
Previous to meeting the Taoiseach today, the mayor of Hiroshima found himself responding to comments from US President Donald Trump. The US president told reporters the US attack on Iran's three nuclear facilities recently were 'essentially the same thing' as the attacks on Japan 80 years ago.
'I wish that President Trump would visit the bombed area to see the reality of the atomic bombing and feel the spirit of Hiroshima, and then make statements,' the mayor said in response this week.
A Japanese reporter asked the Taoiseach today what he made of Trump's comments. Martin said that two events were not comparable, in his view.
As a student of history, Martin said one has to be careful when looking at contemporary events and applying them to past. 'It doesn't always work,' he said.
The Taoiseach told the reported that he doesn't believe that Trump likes war, stating that in his view, the US president's fundamental instinct is to oppose war.
Martin said he believes Trump wants peace but said 'sometime it can be very complex to get to peace'.
'But if Iran, for example, was ever to secure a nuclear weapon, then the prospect of proliferation for the nuclear weapons within the Middle East, for example, would grow very significantly, and that's why there's been huge emphasis on preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb,' Martin said today.
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