I REFER to the letter from Sonia Davis headlined, 'Lives saved' (South China Morning Post, December 15).

I thank her for her suggestion that I read Jack Edwards' book Banzai You Bastards. I will look for the English version in a local bookshop. I too would like to make a suggestion, that Ms Davis goes to Hiroshima and visits the Memorial Museum of the Atomic Bomb, so she can see how the victims of the bomb suffered.

She is right. The announcement of the US commemorative stamp had 'upset people like Ryu Iwase' and many people throughout the world expressed concern about it being issued. I am proud that I was one of those people who protested against it. I admit that that the A-bomb was one of the major reasons why Japan surrendered, but this is not the right time to make such comments, when conflicts are raging in so many countries. That is why my main criticism was not of the picture, but of the caption, 'Atom bombs hasten war's end, August 1945'. Sentiments like this might encourage the use of the bomb in the future. What do readers think would happen if a nuclear war broke out? It is important that we know the truth about the cold-blooded behaviour of the Japanese troops (especially in Asia), but as regards the atomic bomb, we have to look at this issue candidly and our views should reflect our concerns for the future.