On Monday the Earth and Man Museum commemorated the deaths of about 230,000 people who died when the Japanese town of Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, 1945. The Earth and Man Museum has been given a Stone For Peace, which is presented with flowers every year on the same day as a reminder of lives lost.

"Nuclear power could be used for the benefit of the human race, for the promotion of better living. In the past it was used to kill ordinary people who were living peacefully," said Akira Matsui, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Japan. Around the world, 188 countries have been given a stone by the Stone For Peace Association of Hiroshima. They received an open letter with the stone which states that, "the atomic bomb-stone is pledging a peace message from Hiroshima from August 6, 1991."

The letter also tells the history of the stones. They were the tram line paving stones that were exposed to the atomic explosion in Japan at 8.15am on August 6, 1945. The slabs were used to pave public areas and covered the street network that served as the major means of transportation for the citizens of Hiroshima. The stones were present during the nuclear blast. "In our earnest hope for any world order we have had an image of a woman, the goddess of compassion, engraved on a total of 188 slabs collected from the tram lines near the Aioi bridge," the letter says.

"We have pledged in our constitution never again to conduct aggression towards foreign countries," the letter continues. "We would like to present these slabs to people hoping that all mankind shares the common wish for a world without wars, by possessing a memento of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a reminder of the importance of peace." Compassion Day was noted at the museum by the visit of the Japanese ambassador and his wife to the event, where he wrote a message for peace. All visitors had the chance to mark the day by writing a message for sustainable peace. The goddess of compassion's image on the stone reminds people not to have a bad world filled with inhumanity, said Matsui. He read the selection of Haiku verses exhibited in the museum.

"This is the 56th anniversary of the tragic incident in Hiroshima and people are starting to forget about it. That is not right," said Wasko Matsui, the ambassador's wife. "We have to pass the sadness to the younger generation." She expressed hope that the incident would never happen again anywhere. "The bombing made Japanese people unite and act as a team to create something from scratch," she added.