The newsroom of the Chugoku Shimbun recently received a letter of complaint from a 76-year-old whose daily ritual is to take a stroll around the Hiroshima Peace Memorial every morning.
His complaint: tourists flashing the peace sign in front of the memorial. "Tourists are posing with the peace sign when they're taking pictures. Aren't they lacking sensitivity?"
The peace sign, or V-sign, can mean may things — a wish for peace, a sign of triumph after a victory or even a spontaneous sign. It is common practice in Japan to make the sign when having a photo taken, but is it inappropriate in front of Hiroshima's Atomic Bomb Dome?