Hiroshima monument vandalized

HIROSHIMA, Japan, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A memorial at Hiroshima's Peach Memorial Park was defaced early Wednesday morning with gold paint, police say.

The affected area bears an inscription that reads: "Let all souls rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil." Erected on Aug. 6, 1952, the arc-shaped monument commemorates the victims of the August 1945 atomic bomb attack.

A security guard rushed to the site around 1 a.m. in response to an alarm. Passersby saw a man with gray hair approach the monument holding something resembling a spray can.

An 80-year-old woman told Kyodo news: "I have come here every day to pray for peace for more than 30 years. It's a pity ... that someone does a thing like this."