Police referred two Bulgarian men to prosecutors Tuesday for allegedly spraying graffiti on stone benches and other property at the memorial park in Hiroshima dedicated to the victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of the city.
The two men, who visited Japan as technical staff of Bulgaria's national opera, are suspected of spraying graffiti, including messages supporting a Bulgarian football club written in Cyrillic, at five locations between the late night of Oct 14 and early hours of Oct 15.
The 26-year-old and 41-year-old men have admitted to the allegations, saying they wanted to leave something to mark their visit to Hiroshima. The two had been drinking alcohol at the time, according to the police.
The opera company, which was on a tour of Japan, was performing in Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, about 40 kilometers away from the Peace Memorial Park, on the evening of Oct 14.
Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry has condemned the acts of vandalism and officially apologized to Japan.
The two men have been fired from the opera company over the incident, according to Bulgarian media.
© KYODO
22 Comments
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JonathanJo
Lock them up.
Ganbare Japan!
Prison sentence and then deport them. It is unforgivable to do this to such an important World Heritage Memorial in Hiroshima. I am angry that some Bulgarians would hate Japan to do this. Why?
englishman81
I doesn't say anything about Bulgarians hating Japan. They were just drunk and wanted to leave a marker that they were in Japan. I'm sure the City of Hiroshima has already cleaned it up.
I'm sure they will just be deported. Some people just don't have the brains to comprehend the consequences of their actions.
Ganbare Japan!
Imagine if back in the EU, these Bulgarians vandalize a Memorial to Jewish Holocaust victims. They will be put in prison in some nations ex. Germany. That's why I say put them in prison for a few months. To reflect sincerely on their act.
The most famous Bulgarian in Japan, Kotoōshū Katsunori (former Sumo ozeki) will be furious about this incident.
Vince Black
They were drunk and didn't know what they were doing. That excuse seems to fly here. No need to deport them or lock them up though, just some drunken antics
Fouxdefa
There are a lot of restaurants and izakaya around there, they probably toddled out doing dumb stuff they would have done at any nearby park, too bad that happened to be the Peace Park.
The area I work in Osaka graffiti is everywhere, but it seems authorities here are strict about it if it suddenly appears in areas hitherto free from it.
krustytheclown
Make them pay for the cleanup and send them home.
Bungle
...and...
I guess the fat lady really did sing.
rainyday
Idiots. I wouldn't say locking them up is appropriate, losing their jobs (and probably whatever fine they will be hit with) is going to be punishment enough.
Ex_Res
Lock them up.
They are locked up. They are under arrest. A very disrespectful thing to do.
Spidey
I guess they should have left their mark the old fashioned way...
S
bullfighter
It flies in this venue but not with Japanese cops and not in Japanese courts. If that excuse flew, they would not have been arrested in the first place.
Kniknaknokkaer
Make them clean it up.
wtfjapan
The most famous Bulgarian in Japan, Kotoōshū Katsunori (former Sumo ozeki) will be furious about this incident. I think your over estimate just how little the rest of the world actually pay attention or care about domestic news in Japan.
Goodlucktoyou
One of the best things about living in japan is no graffiti. But the last year or two has been very disappointing. There is no point for these foriegners doing this as Japanese have know idea of the meaning.
Fouxdefa
I would rephrase to say "...about living in Japan is very little graffiti in the nice parts of town."
I agree it's more pleasant for all when defacement of others' or public property isn't considered a norm.
goldorak
Moral of the story: never mix opera with football & booze.
bogva
I guess they are out of Japan with the return of the Opera. So wonder what effect there is with the referral to prosecutors? This is a hooligan act and there should be a fine but the case is blown as it happened close to the memorial.
Two stupid guys that did something nobody can imagine doing here in Japan. Well, they didn't know where they were and appologiesed but in first place show the bad manners of many rough people back in Europe. Here you can't see even scratched desk in school...
Jeff Gawne
And...they just happened to have a can of spray paint with them when they went out drinking. Seems plausible.
IloveCoffee
This article did not mention the fact that the two Bulgarians went to the police station themselves and admitted to the crime voluntarily. They surrendered volunetarily. I think that's important to be noted. The police said that this is the first time a foreigner commits a crime and surrenders on their own.
garypen
Don't they know the "I was drunk" defense only works for native Japanese?
Silly foreigners.
Sync_
Proper hate mongering here. It's not about hate, it's just vandalism/an act without thinking about the consequences.